TRANSPORTATION

With their mid and long term expansion plans, the Reno/Tahoe Regional Airport provides an excellent core area destination airport for an Olympic Winter Games. The additional general aviation airports in South Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Stead and elsewhere also meet or exceed any expectations in this area. Air travelers can also easily access the Games zone from the western side of the Sierra from the Sacramento International Airport. The Bay Area also provides two widely-used international airports In San Francisco and Oakland.

Flights from those major Bay Area airports into Reno take less than one hour. This only begins to highlight the excellent opportunities For international travel and access. There are numerous one-stop arrival opportunities from anywhere in the world through many other domestic international gateways including Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and most importantly Las Vegas.

There is an excellent east-west rail system, with a terminal in downtown Reno and stations in Truckee and points west that can provide an alternative to automobile or bus traffic from Reno to Truckee and from the Bay Area into the Games mountain venues. The highway network, including I-80, I-395 and other local highways, moves existing traffic well. With planned upgrades over time, it is expected that the existing roadway infrastructure be able to handle all levels of Games period traffic. The area that Games transportation planners will need to devote the most time to will focus on traffic from I-80 down the west side of Lake Tahoe to the south and the roads from Reno to the Nevada side of the lake.

While much of the necessary infrastructure is already above general Olympic games standards, hosting the Winter Games can “fast-track” other planned and/or envisioned projects that might otherwise not receive funding. Clean public transportation upgrades, urban light rail systems and transportation opportunities that could permanently alleviate vehicle traffic in the Lake Tahoe Basin are just some of the possibilities that could become reality.

A significant portion of Games-related transportation will necessitate park-and-rides. The availability of large, well-placed park-and-ride lots is critical to the Games. An examination of likely Games venue entry points has shown that there are sufficient choices for locating such mass transit essentials in key locations.

The coalition recognizes general public concerns that the games would bring increased traffic congestion. Our planning strives to meet and exceed the transportation issues throughout the entire Olympic games cycle and beyond.