At its Oct. 18 meeting, the Carlsbad City Council voted to extend the local traffic safety emergency proclamation for an additional 60 days.
The city proclaimed a traffic safety emergency in August following a dramatic increase in collisions involving bikes and e-bikes. In that time, the city has focused on a balanced approach that includes efforts related to the “three Es” of traffic safety – education, engineering and enforcement.
- E-bike safety classes and other traffic safety education
- Making bike lanes wider and more prominent throughout the city
- Focusing on areas with the most collisions reported
- Increasing enforcement of traffic safety rules for cars, bikes and pedestrians
Prioritizing projects
Even before the emergency proclamation, the City Council had directed staff to expedite several traffic safety related projects, including traffic circles in the Barrio, more visible crosswalks along Carlsbad Boulevard, and others in the city’s Sustainable Mobility Plan.
- That plan is focused on, among other things, changing roads throughout the city to better balance the needs of all users.
- This is part of a national trend (and City of Carlsbad policy) to focus more on moving “people” in all the ways they may want to get around, rather than the older traffic engineering approach that focused mostly on moving cars.
These projects continue to be prioritized, even following the emergency proclamation. The status of city projects is available on the city’s projects webpage.
By law, the City Council must review the emergency at least every 60 days and take action either to extend it or end it. The emergency proclamation allows the city to:
- Quickly redeploy resources where they are needed most
- Execute contracts and procure materials through a streamlined process
- Expand capacity to address traffic safety needs overall
Feedback wanted
The city is offering two opportunities next week for community members to provide feedback on dozens of additional activities the City Council may consider to further address traffic safety.
- These were presented to the City Council Sept. 27 as part of the Safer Streets Together Plan.
- At that time, the City Council approved projects and initiatives where funding had already been identified, either through the $2 million they approved Aug. 30 (unspent funds from the fiscal year 2021-22 budget) or by reprioritizing work in this year’s budget.
- The City Council asked staff to get input from the public, the city’s Traffic & Mobility Commission and the Planning Commission on the options that would require new funding.
Special meetings have been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27:
1 p.m.
Planning Commission special meeting
5 p.m.
Traffic & Mobility Commission special meeting
Both meetings will take place in the City Council chamber, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive, and be streamed live on the city’s website. Input can be provided by emailing the commissions before the meeting or speaking at the meetings during the public comment portion of the agenda.
traffic@carlsbadca.gov
planning@carlsbadca.gov
City staff will then present the feedback to the City Council, which will provide direction on next steps at an upcoming meeting.
Reducing speeding in Carlsbad neighborhoods
One of the ways the city works with community members to address neighborhood speeding is through the Residential Traffic Management Program.
- When community members contact the Transportation Department with concerns, city engineers schedule an evaluation of the street involved.
- Based on what they find, they can offer neighbors options, starting with the easiest and quickest solutions up to solutions that might require construction work.
You can find out more about this program on our website or by watching a quick video.
Tamarack Avenue speeding
The city has started to work with neighbors along Tamarack Avenue between Skyline and Adams on short term solutions to speeding. If you travel in this area and want to provide feedback, an online survey will be open through next Monday, Oct. 24. Before you complete the survey, take a virtual drive showing where the proposed speed cushions and raised crosswalks would go.
