Sierra gondola may ease traffic jams at Lake Tahoe

Douglas County planners who reviewed the plan this week say it could help ease crowded roads during the busy tourist season but they want to be sure it won't ruin the scenic view.

"This is a concept that we've just got our teeth into," said Dan Jenkins, a land-use planner representing the developers.

"I feel it could be a big plus for the traffic at Kingsbury," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

The proposed aerial tram system would carry passengers from near Walleys Hot Springs to the top of Kingsbury Grade and over the ridge to Stateline.

The gondola, with a price tag of $15 million, is part of a larger project being put together by developers Angelo Morales and Gary Leiss.

The rest of the 66-acre project, at a cost of another $25 million, would include a 300-400 unit hotel, a 300-unit timeshare complex and retail center.

The gondola would transport an estimated 2,400 people an hour in eight-passenger cars. It would take about 16 minutes to make the trip.

Some county officials worry the project could be an eyesore.

"I really don't know if those are our mountains to destroy," said Virginia Henningsen, from the county planning commission.

Jenkins said the gondola and ridgetop development would be designed in a manner to minimize visual impact.

"I don't think any one of us would be even interested if we were going up there to destroy the mountain," he said.

It's the second gondola project proposed for the area. Another would take people from the Park Avenue development project at South Lake Tahoe to the slopes of Heavenly Ski Resort.

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