AUBURN, CA (MPG) - Plans to connect North Lake Tahoe with a shared-use trail moved forward today with the Placer County Board of Supervisors approving a $240,000 contract with Nichols Consulting Engineers of Reno to design a 1.7-mile reach of the project.

The North Tahoe Shared-Use Trail is the regional trail envisioned to connect North Tahoe Regional Park in Tahoe Vista to the Dollar Creek Trail near Tahoe City. When complete, the trail will provide a continuous path on Lake Tahoe's north shore for pedestrians and cyclists.

Design and construction of the trail will be phased in three segments. The approved contract is for preliminary design and environmental documentation for 1.7 miles linking the North Tahoe Regional Park with Carnelian Bay Avenue. The proposed trail alignment will use existing public trail easements and public land parcels from the U.S. Forest Service and California Tahoe Conservancy. No private property easements are expected to be needed to complete the project.

The board in October 2018 approved funding in the amount of $400,000 for this project as part of the list of projects recommended for guest lodging tax funding by the Capital Projects Advisory Committee.

Community feedback opportunities on the trail alignment are anticipated to take place in spring 2020.