CARLSBAD — The Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday advanced plans for the long-discussed Barrio Traffic Circles Project despite residents’ concerns about the loss of parking spaces and impacts on the neighborhood.
The project, part of the city’s Village and Barrio Master Plan, will introduce five traffic circles to help slow traffic and improve safety. However, city officials confirmed the changes will result in the removal of 46 parking spaces.
Tom Frank, city engineer and transportation director, said city staff have been working to identify more parking in the Barrio neighborhood.
“As far as replacing parking spaces on the street, what we have done in the Village areas, we’ve undertaken a task to evaluate our current no parking restrictions, including red curbed areas,” Frank said during the meeting. “And in the Village area, we’ve been successful at identifying up to 28 additional parking spaces. We are going to be doing that same effort in the Barrio area.”
Councilmember Melanie Burkholder raised concerns about a nine-unit residential complex planned for the neighborhood that will provide only six garage parking spaces, raising concerns that future residents will rely on already limited on-street parking.
“The biggest complaint I get is nobody wants to go to the Village because there’s no parking,” Burkholder said during the meeting. “And this is residential, so those people that own those houses there park on the street a lot of times.”
Some residents expressed concerns about the impact of state laws limiting the city’s ability to require parking for developments near transit stations. Assembly Bill 2097, which prohibits minimum parking requirements for projects within a half-mile of transit, applies to three planned traffic circle locations.
Additionally, Burkholder raised concerns about access for emergency vehicles. Frank assured the council that police and fire officials had reviewed the plans and tested the routes.
“We coordinate or collaborate with our internal partners, both police and fire, and all of our departments,” Frank said. “Our fire department partners actually [went] out and physically drove the proposed new alignments [with] their largest vehicles. And so they have done that. They do not oppose this project.”
A separate issue arose when a property owner at Pine and Madison argued that the new roundabout design would eliminate his driveway. The resident, whose name could not be confirmed by The Coast News at this time, had been working with city engineers for months, providing historical records showing the driveway had been in place since 1966.
“I’m not asking for the dismissal of the roundabout,” the resident said during the meeting. “What I am asking for is some help to work with the city to make sure I can still keep my driveway.”
Following discussion, the council unanimously directed Public Works to explore additional parking opportunities along Madison and Chestnut, including the possibility of angled parking. City engineers were also directed to work with affected residents on driveway access concerns.
Councilmember Teresa Acosta acknowledged the challenges of balancing past plans with new concerns from residents.
“I just want to thank staff for the hard work and also for being willing to be flexible and open-minded when we asked additional questions, maybe two, three, five years down the line,” Acosta said.
