HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-27; Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts - All); Gomez, PazTo the members of the:
CITY COUNCI;,: /
Dated1#'1 \?fiA V CC V
CM -~ _vOCM (3) V
February 27, 2025
Council Memorandum
To:
From:
Via:
Honorable Mayor Blackburn and Members of the City Council
Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Publt "iJo~ks )
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2025020
Re:
Sheila Cobian, Assistant City Manager ~
Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
This memorandum provides an update on staff's recent and upcoming efforts to implement
traffic safety improvements on city residential streets as part of the Carlsbad Residential Traffic
Management Program (CRTMP).
Background
The CRTMP was developed in 2001 to address safety and speeding concerns on residential
streets and was updated in 2011. It is an ongoing program and is implemented when staff receive
a complaint or concern about traffic speeding on residential streets.
The program is divided into the following three phases:
Phase I: Using less intrusive measures, this phase focuses on education, enforcement and
engineering strategies:
• Police presence and police enforcement
• Engineering tools such as speed limit signs, warning signs, pavement legends and
temporary speed feedback signs
Phase II: If Phase I tools are found to be insufficient and the critical speed of the street is
measured to be 32 miles per hour (mph) or morel, staff will meet with residents to develop a
plan that addresses resident concerns. Traffic calming strategies in Phase II may include:
• Speed cushions
• Traffic circles
• Curb extensions
1 The threshold of 32 mph is used because traffic calming measures such as speed cushions, may
not yield significant speed reduction if implemented on roadways with critical speed below 32 mph.
Public Works Branch
Transportation Department
1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 442-339-2757 t
Council Memo -Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
February 27, 2025
Page 2
Community support of the proposed plan by mail survey is needed to move the project to
implementation.
Phase Ill: If the implemented Phase II solutions do not adequately address the reported issues,
residents may request Phase Ill of the CRTMP. Traffic calming strategies in Phase Ill may include:
• Center island narrowing
• Raised intersections
• Lateral shift in lanes
• Realigned intersections
• Forced turn channelization
• Median barriers and traffic diverters
Phase Ill in the CRTMP has not been initiated or implemented on any street in the city since the
prngram's adoption due to the effectiveness and success of the traffic calming measures utilized
in Phases I and II.
Discussion
Recent CRTMP Phase II Efforts
Staff have completed the CRTMP Phase II process for the following 11 streets since the beginning
of the pandemic in 2020:
f ,;
I No. Street Limits District
I I ,
1 Black Rail Road Poinsettia Lane to northerly terminus 2
2 Carrillo Way Rancho Brasado to Rancho Caballo 3
3 Celinda Drive Carlsbad Village Drive to Chestnut Avenue 1
4 Circulo Sequoia Avenida Diestro to Avenida Amapola (north) 4
5 Highland Drive Elmwood Street to Carlsbad Village Drive 1
6 Hummingbird Road Rock Dove Street to Sanderling Court 3
7 Monroe Street Carlsbad Village Drive to Basswood Avenue 1
8 Nueva Castilla Way La Costa Venue to Levante Street 4
9 Park Avenue Monroe Street to Tamarack Avenue 1
10 Plum Tree Road Hidden Valley Road to Aviara Parkway 3
11 Victoria Avenue Pontiac Drive to Carlsbad Village Drive 2
For the 11 streets listed above, staff conducted neighborhood meetings to present the
communities with traffic calming strategies and options for each individual street. Preferred
traffic calming plans were developed with input from residents at the meetings for each
neighborhood.
Council Memo -Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
February 27, 2025
Page 3
Following these meetings, mail surveys were used to quantify neighborhood support for the
preferred traffic calming concept plans developed by the residents at the neighborhood
meetings. As shown in the table below, eight out of the 11 streets met the support criteria2. Of
the eight streets that received community support, construction has been completed for four of
those streets and the remaining four are under construction.
I
: No. Street Met Community Status
I Support Criteria?
1 Black Rail Road Yes In Construction
2 Carrillo Way Yes In Construction
3 Celinda Drive No See notes below
4 Circulo Sequoia Yes Construction Complete
5 Highland Drive Yes Construction Complete
6 Hummingbird Road No N/A
7 Monroe Street No N/A
8 Nueva Castilla Way Yes Construction Complete
9 Park Avenue Yes In Construction
10 Plum Tree Road Yes In Construction
11 Victoria Avenue Yes Construction Complete
Celinda Drive
A preferred traffic calming concept plan consisting of 10 speed cushions was supported by a
majority of the attendees at the December 14, 2022, neighborhood meeting. However, after the
neighborhood meeting, multiple residents on Celinda Drive reached out to staff via email about
their concern that 10 speed cushions on Celinda Drive was excessive and requested that an
alternative plan with less speed cushions on Celinda Drive be developed.
In response to these requests and concerns, staff developed an alternative plan with five speed
cushions and presented the two concept plans (the original plan and the alternative plan) to the
community at a second neighborhood meeting, conducted on a virtual platform, on
February 28, 2023. At the meeting, residents provided their feedback, and the majority of the
meeting attendees expressed that they would be more comfortable with the alternative plan.
2 The surveys are sent to all residents and property owners in each project area of influence, or
PAOI. The CRTMP requires that at least 50% of the mailed surveys be returned to constitute a valid survey
and that a support rate of 67% or more is required to indicate positive community support for the proposed
plan .
Council Memo -Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
February 27, 2025
Page 4
Based on the feedback received, staff moved forward with the mail survey for the traffic calming
plan with five speed cushions on Celinda Drive.
Mail surveys were sent to residents and property owners along Celinda Drive and surrounding
cul-de-sacs, including Afton Way, Kimberly Court, Shawn Court, Dana Court, Azure Circle,
Sara Way and Maria Lane. Out of 165 surveys sent, 96 were returned, resulting in a return rate of
58%. Of the 96 returned surveys, 64 were in support of the plan, yielding a support rate of 66. 7%.
Based on past practices, the support rate was rounded to the nearest whole number, which was
67%.
On June 5, 2023, the Traffic and Mobility Commission unanimously supported staff's
recommendation to approve the traffic calming plan for Celinda Drive.
The traffic calming plans were then presented to the City Council on October 17, 2023, for review
and approval. During public comment, some residents challenged the support rate of 66.67%,
saying that it did not meet the required 67% threshold outlined in the CRTMP. The City Council
directed staff to conduct a second survey to confirm the support rate for Celinda Drive.
On October 26, 2023, staff sent out a second survey. Of the 165 surveys sent, 108 were returned,
corresponding to a return rate of 65%. Out of the 108 returned surveys, 71 were in support of
the plan, resulting in a support rate of 65.7%, which did not meet the requirement of 67% to
move the traffic calming plan forward.
Following the notification of the survey results, multiple residents have continued to express
their concerns about speeding and have requested staff to re-evaluate Celinda Drive for Phase II
implementation. In response, staff have agreed to add Celinda Drive to the queue to collect
speed data to evaluate whether the Phase II process may be re-initiated.
New CRTMP Phase I Efforts
Staff continue to address speeding concerns from residents as part of Phase I of the CRTMP. As
of January 1, 2024, staff have conducted speed measurements on 29 residential streets in
response to speeding concerns received, including re-evaluation of Celinda Drive.
Out of the 29 residential streets, the measured critical speed on Celinda Drive, Pontiac Drive and
Unicornio Street met the 32 mph threshold criteria for Phase II of the CRTMP. See table below
for a summary of speed data collected on the 29 residential streets.
Council Memo -Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
February 27, 2025
Page 5
Critical Qualified
Street From To District Speed for Phase
II?
Anillo Way Rocio Street La Gran Via 4 30 No
Basswood Avenue Highland Drive Eureka Place 1 31 No
Celinda Drive Carlsbad Village Drive Chestnut Avenue 1 33 Yes
Chinquapin Avenue Highland Drive Harrison Street 1 31 No
Chinquapin Avenue Long Place 1-5 Freeway Bridge 1 24 No
Columbine Drive Mimosa Drive Arenal Road 4 31 No
Dickinson Drive Hemingway Drive Tolkien Way 2 22 No
Galicia Way Levante Street (West) Levante Street (East) 4 24 No
Garfield Street Chestnut Avenue Acacia Avenue 1 25 No
Garfield Street Tamarack Avenue Olive Avenue 1 21 No
Geranium Street Mimosa Drive Columbine Drive 4 26 No
Gibraltar Street La Costa Avenue Romeria Street 4 25 No
Glasgow Drive Edinburgh Drive Southerly Terminus 2 27 No
Hibiscus Circle Jefferson Street Tamarack Avenue 1 23 No
Highland Drive Carlsbad Village Drive Chestnut Avenue 1 30 No
Jefferson Street Tamarack Avenue Chinquapin Avenue 1 30 No
La Portalada Drive Northerly Terminus Tamarack Avenue 1 29 No
Madison Street Laguna Drive Arbuckle Place 1 25 No
Neblina Drive Hillside Drive High Ridge Avenue 1 30 No
Park Drive Monroe Street Westhaven Drive 1 27 No
Park Drive Kelly Drive Via Marta 1 28 No
Paseo Aliso Grado El Tupelo (N) Via Hoja 4 29 No
Pine Avenue Highland Drive Eureka Place 1 27 No
Pontiac Drive Carlsbad Village Drive Spokane Way 2 34 Yes
Skyline Road Westhaven Drive Alder Avenue 1 27 No
Strata Drive Tamarack Avenue Tamarack Avenue 2 20 No
Twain Avenue Hemingway Drive Tolkien Way 2 23 No
Unicornio Street El Fuerte Street Rancho Cortes 3 32 Yes
Xana Way Alga Road Corintia Street 3 29 No
Exception for inclusion into Phase II of the CRTMP
Following the notification to the residents of speed measurement results, staff received petitions
from residents on Glasgow Drive and Park Drive requesting traffic calming measures on their
respective streets. Since both Glasgow Drive and Park Drive did not meet the 32 mph threshold
to be eligible for Phase II of the CRTMP, an exception for inclusion into Phase II of the program
Council Memo -Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program Update (Districts -All)
February 27, 2025
Page 6
would be required for any traffic calming implementation to be considered. The CRTMP allows
such an exception if it is supported and approved by the Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission.
Upon reviewing the petitions received for Glasgow Drive and Park Drive, staff presented the
requests to the Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission for their consideration and approval. The
Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission granted the exception for Glasgow Drive and Park Drive at
its November 4, 2024, and December 2, 2024, meetings, respectively, allowing them to be
included in Phase II of the CRTMP.
Next Steps
For the five streets that have recently qualified or were granted an exception for CRTMP Phase II
(Celinda Drive, Pontiac Drive, Unicornio Street, Glasgow Drive and Park Drive), staff will schedule
and hold neighborhood meetings with residents for each individual street in early 2025 to initiate
the CRTMP Phase II process.
-----~ ----~ -
No. Street Limits
1 Celinda Drive Carlsbad Village Drive to Chestnut Avenue
2 Pontiac Drive
3 Unicornio Street
4 Glasgow Drive
5 Park Drive
cc: Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Carlsbad Village Drive to Spokane Way
El Fuerte Street to Rancho Cortes
Edinburgh Drive to southern terminus
Monroe Street to Westhaven Drive
Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services
Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services
Christie Calderwood, Police Chief
Michael Calderwood, Fire Chief
Gina Herrera, Assistant City Attorney
Tom Frank, Transportation Director/City Engineer
Hossein Ajideh, Engineering Manager
John Kim, City Traffic Engineer
Nathan Schmidt, Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager
Jason Arnotti, Lieutenant, Police Department
Miriam Jim, Senior Engineer
Lindy Pham, Associate Engineer
Sarah Lemons, Interim Communication and Engagement Director
District
1
2
3
2
1