City staff are working on the planning process to implement projects identified in the Sustainable Mobility Plan and how to pay for them to be completed. 

The SMP includes a total 322 individual projects which have been grouped by location into 97 project areas. These projects were prioritized for implementation based on the following criteria: 

• Access to transit, schools, and key destinations 
• Areas that generate high Vehicle Miles Traveled and pollution factors 
• High collision areas 
• Demographic data including population and employment density

The key factors considered as part of the re-prioritization of the SMP projects include: 

Connected project network:
The reprioritized project list is intended to place greater emphasis on projects that connect
disjointed routes, enhance safety measures in high-traffic areas, provide connections to school
sites, and extending the reach of the existing pedestrian and bicycle network to currently
underserved neighborhoods. By closing these gaps, the city is aiming to improve accessibility
and encourage more residents to embrace walking, biking, and taking transit as a viable mode
of transportation.

Focus on east-west corridors:
To establish an efficient and interconnected active transportation network throughout the city,
the reprioritized project list emphasizes the development of well-defined east-west corridors,
including Jefferson Street/Marron Road, Carlsbad Village Drive, Tamarack Avenue, Cannon
Road, Palomar Airport Road, Poinsettia Lane, and La Costa Avenue. These corridors were
strategically selected based on factors such as commuter flow, connections to schools,
residential areas, popular destinations like the coastline, and integration with public
transportation hubs. Creating robust east-west routes aims to facilitate a more seamless and
convenient path of travel for all roadway users.

Latest traffic safety data:
In an effort to enhance the safety of active transportation users and promote a more
sustainable urban environment, the city's Local Roadway Safety Plan was also utilized to reprioritize the SMP projects. The Local Roadway Safety Plan was completed after the
adoption of the SMP so the new information provided in the LRSP was utilized to identify areas
with high traffic safety risks and allocate resources to address these concerns effectively. By
analyzing the traffic safety data, the city was able to develop a prioritized project list that
focused on improving the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-motorized road users.

Part of the Sustainable Mobility Implementation Plan also includes creating realistic funding strategies for the design and construction of the recommended projects. One way of funding these projects is to update the city’s current Traffic Impact Fee and develop a new approach to funding transportation infrastructure through something called the Multimodal Transportation Impact Fee.   

• In the past, transportation around cities was almost exclusively focused on driving, except for dense urban areas where public transit is well utilized.
• Now, we’re focused on moving people rather than cars.
• We are finding ways to make other modes of transportation a safe and inviting alternative where that makes sense. 
• This new fee would be collected from developers so they’d pay for the impacts their projects will have on the city’s transportation network. 
• Instead of charging developers a fee based on just cars, the city would be able to collect development fees to help fund improvements in all the ways people travel around the city, like bike infrastructure and wider sidewalks.

• Executive Summary
• Chapters 1-2: Introduction and Existing Mobility Networks
• Chapter 3: Guiding Principles and Emerging Mobility Trends
• Chapter 4: Community Perspectives
• Chapter 5: The Planned Mobility Networks
• Chapter 6: Proposed Mobility Programs
• Chapter 7: Action Plan

Appendices:

• Appendix A-B: Draft SMP Existing Conditions Report, Roadway Segments with Missing or Substandard Sidewalks
• Appendix C-D: SMP Complete Street Design Guidelines, SMP Communications Plan
• Appendix E-F: Draft Plan Review Public Input Report, SMP Public Comment Summary
• Appendix G: Safe Routes to School Conceptual Improvement Plans
• Appendix H: Safe Routes to School Walk Audit Reports
• Appendix I: Safe Routes to School Suggested Walking Routes
• Appendix J-L: Safe Routes to School Children Residential Density Maps, SMP Project Database, Prioritization Score

City staff, technical experts and community partners have helped shape the city's planning efforts in providing Carlsbad‘s residents, workers and visitors various travel options for their daily trips. 

The working group included representatives from the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, Carlsbad Unified School District, Thermo Fisher, Legoland, Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city's Traffic & Mobility Commission, SANDAG, CalTrans, Omni Resorts, Bike Walk Carlsbad, California State Parks, Cape Rey Resort,  Carlsbad Village Association, Cruzan, GoDaddy, La Costa Glen and representatives from the ADA community, local startups, small businesses and CalTrans.      

Working group meeting presentations: 

• Aug. 23, 2018
• Nov. 13, 2018
• Jan. 15, 2019
• Dec. 10, 2019 

You can also see the “8 to 80 Mobility” video viewed by the working group and referred to in the presentations. 

June 5, 2023 | Traffic & Mobility Commission 
The commission received an update on the project prioritization of the Sustainable Mobility Plan.  

March 6, 2023 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
The commission received an overview on the city’s implementation plan for the Sustainable Mobility Plan and Multimodal Transportation Impact Fee Program and provided input on the prioritization criteria.

Sept. 13, 2022 | City Council
The City Council adopted a resolution authorizing execution of a professional services agreement with Fehr & Peers to provide engineering and environmental services for the Sustainable Mobility Plan Implementation Plan, Multimodal Transportation Impact Fee Study and Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Program.

July 26, 2022 | City Council
The City Council received the Semiannual Transportation Report and adopted a resolution reprioritizing implementation of the Sustainable Mobility Plan program in the Capital Improvement Program.

July 6, 2021 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
The commission received a presentation and provided input to city staff on the Sustainable Mobility Plan Active Transportation Monitoring Program Data Collection Plan.

Jan. 12, 2021 | City Council
The City Council adopted the Sustainable Mobility Plan.

Dec. 7, 2020 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
The commission supported staff’s recommendation to adopt a resolution adopting the Carlsbad Sustainable Mobility Plan.

Sept. 8, 2020 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
The commission approved replacement of Vice Chair Perez with Chair Gocan on the Sustainable Mobility Plan Ad Hoc Committee

April 6, 2020 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
The commission received a draft report and supported staff’s recommendation to City Council to adopt the Carlsbad Sustainable Mobility Plan.

March 2, 2020 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
Staff submitted a draft Sustainable Mobility Plan to the Traffic and Mobility Commission to provide additional time to review the full document prior to consideration of this item at the April 6 meeting.

May 22, 2018 | City Council
The City Council adopted a resolution authorizing execution of a Professional Services Agreement with Chen Ryan Associates, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $365,000 for the preparation of the Sustainable Mobility Plan.