As you may have heard, this week the city declared a local emergency so we can immediately focus additional attention and resources on making our streets safer for everyone. I’ll explain that, plus these other updates today:

• Working together to improve traffic safety
• Barrio project gets federal funding
• Watch the State of the City
• Celebrating Carlsbad’s seniors
• Learn to garden: green thumb not required
• Affordable internet resources
• Fall activities for parents (and other adults)
• Upcoming meetings

Working together to improve traffic safety

This week’s local emergency declaration will provide the city with greater flexibility and allow us to focus more resources on making sure everyone feels safe using our roads. You can read the details on our website, and here are some key points:

• People are using our roads much differently than they used to. E-bikes have become very popular, along with other ways to get around that don’t involve cars.
• The city has held educational workshops, passed stricter rules, increased enforcement and completed dozens of projects to make streets safe and inviting for all. Despite this, we recently experienced two tragic fatalities.
• We all need to do more – the city has an important role, and so does everyone who uses local roads, whether driving, riding a bike or walking. Let’s work together to care for our community.

Questions

Thanks to everyone who has emailed us since we made this announcement. I appreciate your support, and I appreciate your pointed questions too. Here are some of the main topics that have come up since Tuesday:

Isn’t this really all because of (fill in the blank)?

There is no one reason why collisions occur. It’s everyone’s responsibility to be careful and follow the rules. That’s why people refer to the “three Es of traffic safety:” engineering, enforcement and education (engineering is the street design). The California Office of Traffic Safety has a good summary of what is called the “safe systems” approach, which acknowledges the realities of traffic safety: we need safe roads and safe road users.

Are e-bikes the problem?

No, just the opposite. E-bikes and other alternative ways of getting around are better for the environment, reduce traffic and contribute to a healthy lifestyle. This is a situation where something has become very popular very quickly. Infrastructure, laws and awareness need to adapt, and drivers and riders need to take time to understand the rules of the road.

What will the emergency proclamation do?

Declaring a local emergency gives cities more flexibility, allows them to move more quickly, and enables resources to be immediately redeployed. That’s a long way of saying that it’s a tool designed to help get things done when there is a significant threat to public safety. On Tuesday, we will ask the City Council to ratify the emergency proclamation (which is required by law) and provide direction on immediate next steps. Then, on Sept. 27, we will return to the City Council with a comprehensive menu of actions for consideration. After that, we will have our marching orders and focus on efficient and expeditious execution.

Improving traffic safety together tips

Safe walking and driving

Bike and electric bike resources and rules of the road

Federal funding for Barrio lighting and traffic circles

Improving our infrastructure is a big part of our commitment to providing safe roads for everyone who walks, bikes and drives in our city. Carlsbad has several projects in the works to slow down traffic through residential areas, including one you may have seen in the news this week.

Congressman Mike Levin was instrumental in securing $5 million in federal funding for new traffic circles and lighting improvements in the Barrio, Carlsbad’s oldest neighborhood. City leaders gathered Tuesday morning to official accept this funding and celebrate this important project moving forward.

Watch the State of the City video 

This is one of my favorite times of year in Carlsbad, our annual State of the City presentation. We welcomed community members last week to a free showing at the Schulman Auditorium at Dove Library and on Friday the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce hosted its own celebration.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy our annual video presentation is because it highlights of all the different work going on in the City of Carlsbad, from all city departments.

You have two ways to watch the video, which is about 13 minutes long:



• Watch the video at the top of every hour (except during City Council meetings or replays of meetings) on our cable channel, Spectrum channel 24 and AT&T U-verse channel 99.
• See and share the video on the city’s official YouTube channel.

Celebrating our older residents

Sunday was National Senior Citizens Day, designed to recognize older adults and their many accomplishments and contributions. Carlsbad is proud to be home to many active seniors and have many activities and programs specifically for this part of our community:

• The Senior Center at 799 Pine Avenue is open six days a week to provide in person services, a senior lunch program, fun activities and a place to connect.
• The Carlsbad Transportation Service provides free or low-cost rides on certain days of the week to residents 60 and older.
• Older adults can sign up for a wide range of classes, workshops and recreation programs, including Zumba and tai chi to technology tips and music and art programs.

Last December, the Carlsbad City Council approved North County’s first Age-Friendly Action Plan, which lays out a vision for meeting the needs of older residents in the future.

More information

Carlsbad’s 50+ webpage

50+ classes and programs

Learn to garden: green thumb not required

If you’re looking to improve your gardening skills and add new plants to your collection, the Carlsbad City Library's Grow Your Garden program can help. Participants can swap succulents, seeds, fruit, vegetables and herbs from their gardens and learn new gardening techniques. The next session focuses on microgreens.

Grow Your Garden

Saturday, Aug. 27

10 a.m. – noon

Dove Library Courtyard, 1775 Dove Lane

The session will be led by Patrice Smerdu, a life-long gardener and Carlsbad Community Gardens board member. She’s also the daughter of Harold Smerdu, the namesake of Carlsbad’s first community garden, the Harold E. Smerdu Community Garden.

Free seeds are available through the library’s Seed Library program. You can pick them up at the public service desks at all three Carlsbad library branches.

Learn more about free gardening resources on the library’s website.

Resources for affordable internet access

This Saturday, Aug. 27, is the first ever Get Connected Day in California. Schools, nonprofits and local governments throughout the state are sharing resources to help everyone access affordable high-speed internet.

The San Diego Association of Governments has compiled resources to help people in our community learn how to get affordable high-speed internet.

• A monthly internet discount through the federal Affordable Connectivity Program
• Public Wi-Fi at hundreds of locations across the region
• Check out a laptop from your local library to get connected today
• Purchase a low-cost computer or get free digital training from the San Diego Futures Foundation

More information is available at GetConnected.SANDAG.org or by calling 2-1-1.

5 ways to fill your time with kids back in school

As many more Carlsbad kids head back to school this week, parents are starting new routines too. If you’re looking for a way to explore some of the city programs and activities that help make Carlsbad a great place to live, here are our top five ideas:

1. Join a book club. The Carlsbad City Library offers virtual and in-person book clubs on different days of the month. Find the full list of clubs on the city’s website, along with which books they’re reading next and how to join in.
2. Go hike. The City of Carlsbad has 67 miles of trails that offer easy scenic strolls, challenging hikes, mountain biking and beautiful views. Use the city’s interactive GoHike Carlsbad app for details about each trail, including degree of difficulty and parking.
3. Take a class. Find a wide variety of fall health and fitness classes, including dance, yoga, swimming and more, in the City of Carlsbad’s Fall Community Services Guide. You can find the right class for you and register for the class you want on the city’s website.
4. Stream something on Kanopy. Carlsbad residents can use their library card to access to a large collection of narrative and documentary films, TV shows and kids content for free through the streaming service Kanopy. Download the app or sign up for your free account through the library’s eResources page.
5. Enjoy the view. As summer crowds wane, this is a wonderful time of year to enjoy our coastline, whether you’re taking in the sunset, going for a run or just sitting back and feeling the sand beneath your toes. We are so lucky to have this natural resource accessible all year round

Get involved: Upcoming meetings

The next City Council meeting will be held Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. in the City Council chamber. Topics scheduled to be discussed are:

• A contract to complete studies that will help city re-prioritize and identify the funding for future transportation improvements
• An agreement to evaluate the feasibility of constructing offices to centralize Fire Department administrative staff currently working in various locations
• Designating Republic Services as the city’s approved e-waste collector
• Awarding contracts for the repair and rehabilitations of sewer pipes across the city and the replacement of old water main pipes downtown and in Terramar
• Appropriating the funds to buy 34 police vehicles
• Contract with the company that provides city’s human resources software system
• The Registrar of Voters’ request to use two more rooms at Carlsbad community centers as vote centers in the November general election
• Adopting an ordinance to update how the city lifeguard and swimming instructor positions are listed in the city’s contract with the state pension system
• Approving a developer’s use of state bonds to build 70 affordable apartment units on Laurel Tree Lane.
• Ratifying the proclamation of a local emergency for bikes, e-bikes and other mobility devices and providing direction on next steps.
• The fourth quarterly update on the city’s efforts to reduce the unsheltered homeless population and the impacts of homelessness on the community

A link to the full agenda and staff reports will be available on the city’s website by the Friday before the meeting.

In addition, these city meetings are planned next week:

• Aug. 29, 6 p.m. – Historic Preservation Commission
• Sept. 1, 3 p.m. – Senior Commission
• Sept. 1, 6 p.m. – Arts Commission

As you’re out and about this weekend, please help us spread the message about traffic safety. Remember, we are all in this together!

Scott Chadwick

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