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The owner of High Hill Ranch in Apple Hill says El Dorado Transit's free shuttle service is hurting his business.
"For 20 years, everybody's been going one way to get to High Hill Ranch," said owner Jerry Visman. "Now all of a sudden, you're trying to train a dog to do a new trick."
Visman says the closure of Carson Road has pushed some of his customers away because they're being forced to turn around and wait in traffic for another hour to get to his orchard.
"People drove an hour and a half, two hours to get here," Visman explains. "They finally get here, only to be diverted back to the freeway because of the shuttle bus, which is nice, it brings in people, but it brings in fewer people than if you just let cars come in."
Meg Nealon, who drove from Vacaville to Apple Hill said it was difficult and inconvenient to get around Carson Road, where High Hill Ranch is located.
"I understand why they're doing it, but I think they could do it better if they just had traffic control stop the traffic, let 20 cars make lefts, instead of cutting off all lefts," Nealon said.
Those who used the shuttle said they're glad they found it helpful because they were able to avoid being stuck in a traffic mess.
"It was convenient for us because I saw cars stop, and it was hard for them to get in, so it made it easier for us to not have to worry about parking," said Shareena Pok, who was visiting Apple Hill from Stockton.
CHP officials say traffic is flowing better this weekend compared to last weekend after implementing some changes.
"We added another officer and more flaggers further down Carson to get the traffic flowing faster through there," said Rob Smith, Community Resource Officer for Placerville CHP.
Visman says he appreciates some of the adjustments that were made, but says he saw sales drop by 25 percent on one the busiest weekends of the year. Smith noted the county and CHP will continue to be in constant communication with Visman and other farmers to help address their concerns.
"We need these three weeks," Visman said. "My suggestion is the next time they want to do an experiment like this, let's do in November or late December, where it doesn't financially hammer us so bad."
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