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Commission backs conceptual Tamarack restriping ahead of 2026 resurfacing to preserve parking and add bike improvements
Summary
Staff proposed a conceptual restriping for Tamarack Avenue (Carlsbad Village Drive to Cheshire) to be included in the 2026 resurfacing package that preserves on‑street parking while improving bike lane consistency: wider southern bike lanes with buffers where possible and a southbound climbing bike lane with door‑zone buffer near the school.
The Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission voted to support staff’s conceptual restriping plan for Tamarack Avenue between Carlsbad Village Drive and Cheshire Avenue, a package to be included in the city’s 2026 roadway resurfacing program that tries to balance bicycle facility improvements with preservation of heavily used on‑street parking near Hope Elementary School.
Nathan Schmidt, transportation planning and mobility manager, said the restriping concept responds to the Hope Elementary Safe Routes to School plan and council direction to avoid removing significant on‑street parking. Schmidt described a south‑end concept that expands existing 5‑foot bike lanes to 7 feet with 3‑foot buffers where curb‑to‑curb width allows, keeping travel lanes at about 10 feet. North of Chatham Road, where on‑street parking is heavily used during school pickup and drop‑off, staff proposed maintaining parking and using sharrows (class 3) in constrained segments. Near the school’s north driveway — a downhill approach for southbound riders — staff recommended a southbound climbing bike lane with a 2‑foot door‑zone buffer adjacent to parked cars and a 4‑foot bike lane.
"We relooked at that and we've provided a restriping option for Tamarack as part of the resurfacing program," Schmidt said, noting the plan’s intent to preserve parking while improving bike‑lane continuity and safety where possible.
Public commenter David Pierce opposed the restriping concept, arguing that sharrows on downhill segments will not protect child cyclists from fast or impatient drivers and that the city should do more to encourage safe cycling. Commissioners acknowledged the complexity of reconciling parking needs, school drop‑off demand and bicycle infrastructure in a constrained corridor; staff said the concept will be fully engineered and brought back in the broader resurfacing package for council approval and construction scheduling (target: summer 2026). The commission moved to support staff’s recommendation to implement the conceptual restriping as part of the 2026 resurfacing program; the motion passed.
