CARLSBAD — The city recently installed several speed bumps and raised crosswalks along Tamarack Avenue as part of its Safer Streets Together campaign.
The roadway additions are the latest in the city’s ongoing effort to slow traffic along the corridor running west from El Camino Real to Adams Street, according to Tom Frank, the city’s transportation director.
Last year, two tragic fatalities involving cyclists, including a young mother who was struck and killed while riding an e-bike with her surviving infant daughter on Basswood Avenue and Valley Street, led the Carlsbad City Council to approve a temporary local emergency for bicycles and vehicles.
The action freed up at least $2 million to put toward safety measures along the stretch of road in question. The city installed five-speed humps at, or near, the intersections of Adair Way, James Drive, Valley Street, Crescent Point and Sunnyhill Drive.
Frank said the city plans to install several rapid flash beacons — like the ones on Carlsbad Boulevard — along the corridor as the final element of the traffic plan. Additionally, the city was able to finish the speed humps and crosswalks before school starts for the Carlsbad Unified School District.
“There will be those rapid flash beacons at two more locations,” Frank said. “Those locations are Sunnyhill Drive and James Drive.”
According to Frank, residents’ reaction to the changes over the past two weeks has been mostly positive, as those in support have already noticed a difference in driving behavior and speeds. Frank said he has received a couple of complaints about the speed humps, with a few residents upset they limit their speed.
The city conducted a public workshop in October 2022 at Valley Middle School, where dozens of residents gave feedback, some of which can be found in the new upgrades. The city also worked with the Traffic and Mobility Commission and fire department.
“It went through an evolution of working with our fire department because this is an emergency corridor,” Frank said. “With everything, it’s really about a balance and we look at all the needs and objectives of the roadway and try and find the right balance for the elements to make it a functional complete street.”
Additionally, the City Council approved a resurfacing and restriping project last year, which will begin this month, Frank said. The project will slurry seal 16 miles of several east-west arterial roads and includes narrowing or reducing car lanes and expanding bicycle and buffer lanes.
Those include the following:
- Carlsbad Village Drive (Interstate 5 to College Boulevard) and reducing lanes between Appian Road to Chatham Road;
- Tamarack Avenue (Carlsbad Boulevard to Carlsbad Village Drive) and reducing lanes between Skyline Drive to Carlsbad Village Drive;
- Cannon Road (220 feet west of Avenida Encinas to Faraday Avenue);
- Poinsettia Lane (Carlsbad Boulevard to Melrose Drive) and reducing lanes between Carlsbad Boulevard and Avenida Encinas;
- La Costa Avenue (I-5 to Fairway Lane, just past El Camino Real);
- Olivenhain Road (Encinitas city limits to Rancho Santa Fe Road intersection).
Frank said the repaving is expected to take about six months and is part of the Safer Streets Together Plan, which was approved by the City Council last year. The goals are to address speeding by reducing lane width or number of lanes between intersections; creating more separation between vehicles and bikes; mitigating areas of conflict; increasing bike visibility and conflict zones; and turning lanes will remain in place.
