On Tuesday, the City Council received an update on plans to protect a 1-mile stretch of south Carlsbad Boulevard from Manzano Drive to Island Way from future sea level rise while prioritizing walking and biking paths.
The project is part of a grant-funded study focused on how to maximize the roadway’s resiliency to coastal flooding and cliff erosion within the south Carlsbad coastline area where the city is exploring ways to it more accessible to the community.
The project team has received feedback about the three roadway options developed. To ensure staff have time to work through comments, staff requested and was granted a one-year extension from the State Coastal Conservancy. Now, all grant deliverables, including the 30% conceptual design of one of the roadway options, are due no later than February 2024.
Road options
Three roadway designs are being evaluated through the grant. Due to the requirements of the grant at this stage, the project team focused on changes to the roadway, not the land that could be repurposed as a result of moving the road to the east. The three options include:
- 4-lane road with traffic signals
- 2-lane road with roundabouts
- 2-lane road with roundabouts and one enhanced pedestrian crossing
See side-by-side comparison of the options and conceptual roadway designs
Community priorities
When it comes to the roadway, some of the priorities shared by the community included:
- Safer bike lanes, including some separated from the flow of car traffic
- Safe, wide walking paths
- Less noise and air pollution from traffic when enjoying the coast
- Slowing down traffic along the coast
- Making it safer to cross the road to get to the coast
- Maintaining ocean views for drivers and residents who live along Carlsbad Boulevard
New “coastal street” designation
The city’s General Plan, approved in 2015, gave south Carlsbad Boulevard a new designation as a coastal street. The long term goal is to transform south Carlsbad Boulevard to a coastal street with slower speeds, more space for biking, walking and gathering and more access to the beach. The design options for the 1-mile stretch of south Carlsbad Boulevard reflect this new designation, in addition to the community’s input.
Next steps
- The city is completing a traffic study and will present results to the Traffic & Mobility Commission by the end of the year.
- City staff are working with those who live and have businesses along this section of south Carlsbad Boulevard to refine the options.
- On Sept. 27, city staff will present a plan to change the striping on the southbound side of this 1-mile road segment, which will change the western-most lane to create more space for biking, walking and parking and leave one lane for traffic. This has been planned, but the timing was moved up due to the traffic safety emergency proclamation.
- One end product of the study will be a 30% conceptual design of how southbound Carlsbad Boulevard from Manzano Drive to Island Way could be moved to the east.
- Beyond completing the study, the City Council will determine next steps for the 1-mile section of roadway and the full length of south Carlsbad Boulevard.
- The grant does not fund environmental analysis, roadway analysis or construction.
- No additional work for either project is included in the city’s fiscal year budget.
More information
Staff report
South Carlsbad coastline project webpage
South Carlsbad Boulevard climate adaptation grant
General Plan – Mobility element
State Coastal Conservancy
