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City proposes changes to Traffic Management Program: higher speed threshold and a 67% resident petition for Phase 2 projects
Summary
Staff proposed renaming and updating the Traffic Management Program, consolidating phases, requiring a resident‑led petition with 67% support for Phase 2 measures and raising the 85th‑percentile speed threshold above 32 mph; commissioners requested raw data access and debated whether the changes make the program harder for neighborhoods to use.
City staff presented a 2026 update to the Traffic Management Program (formerly the Carlsbad Residential Traffic Management Program) that would simplify the program to two phases, add a traffic calming review committee of transportation, fire and police staff, limit reevaluation of a street to once every two years, raise the Phase 2 eligibility 85th‑percentile speed threshold to greater than 32 mph, and require a resident-led petition with 67% support in the project area before moving to Phase 2.
Senior Engineer Miriam Jim said Phase 3 tools have been folded into Phase 2, the program now clarifies processes for nonresidential streets (reviewed by a traffic calming review committee) and adds procedural clarity on survey reporting (support rates reported as whole numbers). She said the intent is to focus staff resources and ensure clear community support for capital measures.
Public commenters and several commissioners questioned the higher 85th‑percentile threshold (which staff acknowledged raises the bar slightly) and the decision to round survey rates to whole numbers (e.g., 66.9% becomes 66%), which Linke noted could be decisive in small neighborhoods. Linke and other commissioners asked staff to provide raw speed‑survey data and histograms with project packets to let commissioners and residents see distribution and outliers. Staff said continuous speed‑feedback signs record weeks of data that are available on request and that the 67% threshold intends to reflect a clearer majority than the prior 50% return-rate benchmark.
What happens next: Staff will present the updated TMP and the proposed changes to the city council for consideration and adoption. Commissioners asked staff to include raw data and the new petition rules when returning to council.
