Carmel Traffic Committee advances 4-way stop plan, backs ban on motorized e-bikes in preserve and orders parking changes

The Carmel-by-the-Sea Traffic Safety Committee on May 28 voted to send an updated traffic study and recommendations to the City Council that would add several four‑way stops in the downtown Commercial District, asked staff to draft an ordinance to prohibit motorized electric bicycles and similar vehicles in Mission Trail Nature Preserve, and approved a series of parking‑related changes including removing a two‑hour parking allowance at Dolores Street and Sixth Avenue.

The motion to forward the updated 4‑way stop recommendations to council was unanimous. Chair Paul Tomasi said the recommendations update a 2003–2005 traffic study and would be presented to the council with attachments so council members can review the full record before acting. “If the Traffic Safety Committee agrees with the proposed new recommendations, a new updated staff report will be brought to a future city council meeting, hopefully July,” Tomasi said.

Why it matters: The committee is moving to complete a traffic plan that was first drafted two decades ago and adopt changes the committee says will reduce driver and pedestrian confusion in the compact, high‑traffic downtown commercial area. The panel also prioritized pedestrian safety at a separate sidewalk crossing and targeted policy and enforcement changes aimed at preserving public spaces and keeping parking available for short visits.

Most important decisions

- Commercial District four‑way stops: The committee voted to forward an updated set of recommendations — including making San Carlos at Fifth a four‑way stop and adding signage at several other intersections — to the City Council for adoption. The staff presentation noted prior work by Higgins and Associates in 2003–2005 recommending 15 intersections for control; staff said seven intersections remain to be implemented. Committee members said several previously rejected locations (because of concerns about truck rollbacks or fire department access) should be left alone, while others should be converted now because vehicle technology and traffic patterns have changed.

- Mission Trail Nature Preserve: The committee voted to ask staff to prepare an ordinance to add electric motorized bicycles and similar motorized vehicles to the municipal code prohibition on wheeled contrivances in parks and pedestrian paths. Karen Ferlito, president of Friends of Mission Trail Nature Preserve, told the committee that motorized bikes are leaving new trail cutting and marks on recently installed boardwalks. “We definitely do not want motorcycles in there because a hot exhaust with any of those dry grasses, could really cause a conflagration,” she said, urging an update to municipal code 10.40.025 to include electric vehicles.

- Jane Powers Walkway (San Antonio at Jane Powers): After reviewing a recent resident letter that asked both for signs on the far side of San Antonio and a marked crosswalk, the committee approved installing matching pedestrian crossing signage on the opposite side of the…