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Get involved with your Traffic & Mobility Commission

On Monday, the Traffic & Mobility Commission will meet to discuss its work plan for the next fiscal year, as well as upcoming projects. I know I often encourage readers of these updates to consider applying to serve on a city board or commission. A great first step is to check out a meeting or two. Obviously, with the traffic safety emergency, the Traffic & Mobility Commission has been busier than ever.

Like all boards and commissions, the Traffic & Mobility Commission plays a key role in vetting ideas and projects and serving as a forum for community input. Here are the details for next week’s meeting:

Traffic & Mobility Commission

Monday, May 1, 4 p.m.

Carlsbad City Hall

1200 Carlsbad Village Drive

Carlsbad Boulevard and Tamarack Avenue improvements

One of the key projects the Traffic & Mobility Commission will discuss is changes to the Tamarack and Carlsbad Boulevard Intersection. The project is needed to:

• Enhance coastal access
• Improve walking and biking infrastructure
• Improve traffic flow along Carlsbad’s busy coastline
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Learn more about the options and see renderings.

The agenda and staff reports are posted on the commission page. Sign up to get notified when future agendas are available. You can watch Monday’s meeting on our website or come in person. Comments can be emailed before the meeting to traffic@carlsbadca.gov.

Commitee studying growth completes its work

A resident-led committee created by the City Council has completed its work and finalized a report to identify issues and standards that will help ensure Carlsbad retains an excellent quality of life as it continues to grow.

The committee process is the first step in the development of a new long-term growth management program.

I want to recognize and thank the 38 Carlsbad residents who volunteered their time to serve on this committee to help lead the way on this very important topic to our community and the future of Carlsbad. The committee represented a diverse range of community perspectives, including residents from each of Carlsbad’s four City Council districts, as well as members of the city’s appointed commissions.

What’s this about?

The City of Carlsbad’s Growth Management Program was created in the late 80s and is largely credited with maintaining the city’s excellent quality of life, well-planned infrastructure and financial health over the past 35+ years.

• In recent years, new state laws have been passed that render some parts of the city’s Growth Management Program unenforceable, including putting a limit on how many new homes can be built in the city.
• The state laws are meant to address a critical statewide shortage of housing by making it more difficult for cities to deny new housing projects.
• Affordable housing, which is usually apartments and condos, is a big focus of the new state laws, as is locating new housing close to transit hubs.

Next steps

Staff is making the final changes requested by the committee to the report summarizing the committee’s recommendations. I’ll share the report in a future update.

The committee’s recommendations will be presented to the City Council for consideration in July. After the City Council provides direction, the city will need to complete technical studies and potentially update local laws before this work is complete. We expect the process to take about three to four years and will have additional opportunities for public input.

Practical tips for recycling and reducing single-use plastics

We’re wrapping up Earth Month with some recycling tips and a reminder about how important it is to reduce the use of single-use plastics to help protect our environment. In the City of Carlsbad, we’ve made a big difference already with a "Skip the Stuff" ordinance that:

• Keeps 1,196 tons of single-use plastics like straws, utensils and condiment packets out of the landfill each year
• Reduces Carlsbad’s overall waste stream by 3%
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 0.73%, which is the equivalent of 369 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or 6,101 tree seedlings grown for 10 years

Blue bin recycling tips

You can do your part at home by recycling and making sure only these items go in your blue recycling bin:

• Rigid plastics including jugs and containers
• Metal food and beverage cans and clean aluminum foil
• Paper that isn’t soiled, including cardboard, newspaper, catalogs, paperback books, office paper, junk mail, etc.
• Paper food containers like empty cereal and pasta boxes, juice boxes and egg, ice cream and milk cartons
• If you can poke your finger through the plastic, it shouldn’t be recycled. Also, never recycle anything smaller than an ID card

Free sustainability workshop

You can learn even more ways to live sustainably at a free, one-hour workshop this Saturday hosted by the City of Carlsbad. Join our partner I Love a Clean San Diego to learn about the city’s ban on single-use plastics, plus practical tips on:



• How to properly recycle or dispose of plastic waste
• What happens to plastic after we throw it in the trash
• How to replace single-use plastics with zero-waste alternatives 
• How to make a reusable shopping bag out of an upcycled shirt

Sustainable Life Workshop

Saturday, April 29

10 to 11 a.m.

Alga Norte Community Park (Community Center Meeting Room)

6565 Alicante Road

Registration is preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Register here.

Our library, by the numbers

It’s National Library Week and I want to take a moment to share a snapshot of some of our exceptional library programs and services. These numbers really show how the Carlsbad City Library connects our community. If you've been participating in the Carlsbad Reads Together programs this month, you know what I’m talking about!

Many thanks to our outstanding library staff and to all of our library patrons who help create a strong sense of community and shared love of learning.

Pop Up Art at the Sculpture Garden

Join arts educator Lauren Bothe and the city’s arts education team for a Pop Up Art event on Saturday, April 29, at the new Fusion: Geometric Art exhibit at the Carlsbad Sculpture Garden.

Pop Up Art: An Interactive Encounter

Saturday, April 29

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Carlsbad Sculpture Garden

2955 Elmwood St.

You’ll start with a guided tour of the exhibit, learning all kinds of interesting information about the sculptures on display, and then create your own unique three-dimensional artwork reflecting the geometric shapes, lines and colors all around you.

If you’ve never participated in one of our Pop Up Art events, they’re so much fun for all ages and a great way to experience art in our community.

Live music at Front Row Saturday

If you’re looking for something fun to do Saturday night, enjoy an evening of live music at this week’s Front Row Saturday concert, featuring Jessica Fichot, a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter with an international flair.

Fichot spent much of her youth in and around Paris and her music reflects her multi-ethnic French, Chinese and American upbringing. She takes listeners on a musical journey through the French “chanson” tradition, gypsy jazz, 1940s Chinese swing, international folk and more.

Front Row Saturday

Saturday, April 29

7 p.m. seating

7:30 p.m. curtain

Schulman Auditorium

1775 Dove Lane

Get involved: Upcoming meetings

The next City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, May 9, starting at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chamber. A link to the full agenda and staff reports will be available on the city’s website no later than Friday, May 5.

I already mentioned the Traffic & Mobility Commission meeting coming up on Monday, but these city meetings are also taking place next week:



• May 3, 5 p.m. – Planning Commission
• May 4, 3 p.m. – Senior Commission
• May 4, 6 p.m. – Arts Commission

I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the warm weather and take in some of Carlsbad’s natural beauty during the last few days of Earth Month this weekend. See you all back here next week!

Scott Chadwick