Carlsbad council approves Barrio traffic-calming package with added stop sign at Chestnut and Roosevelt

The Carlsbad City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to advance a neighborhood traffic-calming plan for the village and Barrio, approving staff’s Option 1 and amending it to add a stop sign at Chestnut Avenue and Roosevelt Street.

The decision implements a mix of measures aimed at slowing vehicles and improving safety, including painted crosswalks, two raised painted crosswalks, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons and a single traffic circle, with staff directed to complete final design and return in November for adoption of plans and authorization to bid.

Council member Melanie Burkholder moved approval of Option 1 with the chestnut/roosevelt stop-sign amendment; the motion passed unanimously. Council members present at the vote were Mayor Keith Blackburn and Council members Priya Bhat Patel, David Shen, Teresa Acosta, and Burkholder.

Traffic engineering staff said Option 1 covers improvements at 14 intersections (compared with eight in Option 2) and includes safety devices such as raised crosswalks and rapid-flashing beacons that staff and the city’s public-safety partners said they favored for preserving emergency response and overall multimodal safety. Transportation Director Tom Frank told council the plan was developed with input from police and fire and that the team preferred Option 1 because it balances speed reduction with maintaining emergency access.

Residents who spoke at the meeting split on the choices. Several Barrio residents urged the council to install more stop signs and speed humps on Roosevelt and other long straightaways, citing children who walk or bike to Jefferson Elementary School and near-miss collisions. David McGee, a Roosevelt Street resident, said, “We’re in danger” and urged a stop sign at Chestnut and Roosevelt. Parents and volunteers from the school’s walk-to-school program said they favored earlier, more visible interventions and described observed speeding along Madison and Roosevelt Streets.

Fire Chief Mike Calderwood and Police Chief Christie Calderwood addressed emergency-response impacts. The fire chief said vertical deflections such as raised crosswalks should be limited in the project area — recommending a maximum of two within a 1.5-mile response radius — because successive deflections can slow fire engines and degrade response times. He said the department had no preference between the two presented options so long as the council and staff consider response implications. The police chief said stop signs are enforceable and useful in residential settings but acknowledged enforcement resource limits.

Staff outlined next steps: final engineering design of the chosen option, a return to council in November to adopt plans and specifications and authorization to bid, and before-and-after performance studies that could prompt future adjustments. Council members said they expected flexibility to add measures later if field data or public feedback showed gaps.

The council’s motion captures both the selected Option 1 features and the single, council-directed amendment adding an always-stop sign at Chestnut and Roosevelt. The council also directed staff to consider residents’ requests for other localized changes during final design and in subsequent follow-up evaluations.

Community members and council members emphasized that the project reflects long-running resident input on village and Barrio safety and that the adopted approach seeks a balance among traffic flow, pedestrian safety and emergency access.