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Carlsbad council adopts long‑range transportation plan to tackle crashes and truck traffic
Summary
Council adopted the Carlsbad Long‑Range Transportation Plan (2026), which includes safety targets, crash analysis from 2019–2023, recommended bike and pedestrian improvements, and strategies to reroute heavy truck freight to bypass routes; council asked staff to draft a resolution to pursue NMDOT truck‑route changes.
The Carlsbad City Council unanimously adopted the 2026 update to the city's long‑range transportation plan, a policy document that sets goals, prioritizes projects and supports eligibility for state and federal funding.
Liz Treat, planner with Bohannon Houston, summarized the plan's approach: public engagement including an interactive map with 88 comments, crash‑data analysis (primarily 2019–2023), and prioritized countermeasures ranging from painted bike lanes and crosswalk repainting to intersection improvements and roundabouts. Treat said the plan incorporates a federal safety action plan requirement and includes a leadership commitment to pursue the goal of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries by 2040.
Council members focused on the truck‑traffic problem in downtown Carlsbad. Multiple councilors urged staff to pursue a formal request to the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and the Southeast Regional Transportation Planning Organization (SERPA) to move truck routing to the bypasses. "The biggest problem I see in Carlsbad is getting the trucks out of Carlsbad," one councilor said. Staff recommended starting the state/regional process and drafting a formal letter or resolution in unison.
The council moved to adopt the transportation plan and also directed staff to work on a coordinated resolution or letter to NMDOT to address truck routes; the resolution adopting the plan passed unanimously.
