Weekend Traffic Slams Small Town, Thanks To App
MEYERS (CBS13) — In the small, snow-covered Tahoe Basin community of Meyers, there is a traffic outrage caused by apps.
Kenny Cutzwiler has picture proof of the problem: cars backed up on the street, blocking driveways, and in some cases, keeping residents from leaving their homes.
"It's the same problems over and over and over again," Cutzwiler said. "It is just a continuous horror story up here."
Curtzwiler says the problem started a few years ago when various traffic apps began detouring travelers off Highway 50 onto city streets. While the shortcuts are supposed to save drive time, Curtzwiler said they are just backing up traffic instead of shedding a minute off the journey.
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The traffic is now so bad that El Dorado County, the CHP, and Barton Hosptial have sent a letter to Google and Waze explaining how thousands of visitors are descending on this community some weekends. The group is requesting the tech companies change their traffic apps by installing an electronic closure to traffic in residential areas as drivers leave South Lake Tahoe.
Curtzwiler says the apps are sometimes even leading people away from the state line agriculture checkpoint.
"The Google and apps are intentionally telling you to go around the ag station...they are breaking the law. It's a misdemeanor," he said.
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He is hoping the pressure from the CHP in combination with Caltrans enforcing that law could lead Google and Waze to stop sending traffic to Meyers.
"We don't have to create an ordinance to enact this rule, it's already there," Curtzwiler said. "If we have an emergency, we cannot go anywhere."
It's a traffic nightmare that is consuming this Meyers community each weekend, leaving many to hope app changes will be on the way soon.
Google and Waze, so far have not responded to the letter sent by El Dorado County. The tech companies also did not immediately respond to CBS13 requests for comment.
