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Staff recommends keeping parallel parking in Barrio after study finds diagonal options yield no net gain
Summary
A staff study of Madison, Pine and Palm streets found center‑running diagonal parking would violate fire‑access and ADA considerations and that proposed diagonal options generally produced no net increase in parking; staff recommended retaining existing parallel parking and presenting the memo to City Council.
City staff told the Traffic Safety and Mobility Commission that the Barrio parking study did not identify a feasible diagonal‑parking option that would increase net on‑street capacity in the study corridors.
Traffic Engineer John Kim and Senior Engineer Miriam James presented options for Madison Street, Pine Avenue and Palm Avenue: (1) retain existing parallel parking; (2a/2b) add diagonal parking on one side; and two center‑running diagonal concepts. Staff said center diagonal layouts would not satisfy the Carlsbad Municipal Code requirement for a 24‑foot unobstructed roadway for fire access (California fire code requires 20 feet minimum) and would require removal of bike lanes and create pedestrian mid‑block crossing conflicts. The conceptual layouts for diagonal parking on one side often resulted in fewer or no net additional parking spaces because driveways and curb cuts break up diagonal layouts.
"Both options 2a and 2b would yield less parking spaces when compared to option one, the baseline conditions," staff said. The study counted about 101 existing 20‑foot parking stalls on one Madison study block; proposed configurations reduced available spaces in several areas.
Public commenter Gary Nessum said diagonal parking can slow traffic and suggested looking at wider corridors such as Oak and Chestnut. Commissioners acknowledged the study's limitations and asked staff to incorporate these results into a longer‑range village and Barrio parking strategy.
Staff said their next steps are to finalize the draft study memorandum and issue a City Council memorandum to present the findings. If council directs further work, staff and consultants may explore other corridors or off‑street solutions to address long‑term parking loss from increased housing density.
