A stop sign appeared Tuesday for a years-old plan to replace traffic signals with a roundabout at the busy coastal intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Tamarack Avenue.
The Carlsbad City Council voted unanimously to authorize minor improvements that will cost about $2 million instead of building the $19 million roundabout, which many residents opposed.
The San Diego Association of Governments allocated Carlsbad a $1 million grant in 2016 to pursue the roundabout plan. But mixed for the idea from the community and the City Council stalled the project.
So far, the city has spent a little more than half the SANDAG grant money on studies for the proposal, and after two extensions, it faces a May 9 deadline to use the remaining $455,000 or lose it.
“This is an unnecessary pet project that we can’t afford,” said Kathleen Steindlberger, a former member of the city’s Beach Preservation Commission.
Steve Linke, a former member of the city’s Traffic Safety and Mobility Commission, presented data he’s collected from the Police Department that shows the city’s only other roundabout, installed in 2014 on Carlsbad Boulevard at State Street near the Oceanside border, has become the city’s most hazardous intersection.
The State Street roundabout had more collisions than any other Carlsbad intersection from 2015 through 2019 and the number doubled in 2020 through 2024, Linke said.
“This is a recipe for disaster,” he said.
Tom Frank, transportation director and city engineer, said that more than half the collisions at State Street involved drunken drivers who typically were alone and uninjured.
“We design our roadways to serve the community,” Frank said. “We don’t design for people under the influence.”
Roundabouts move traffic more efficiently, reduce the chances of serious injury accidents, are quieter and more fuel-efficient, Frank said. The down side is they are expensive and sometimes perplexing to drivers unfamiliar with them.
Council last considered the Tamarack roundabout in 2023, when they approved a conceptual plan for it. They also asked city staffers to wait for the installation of a roundabout the council approved in 2018 for Carlsbad Boulevard and Cannon Road, where construction is yet to start, to see whether the one at Cannon is successful before proceeding with Tamarack.
Carlsbad Fire Chief Mike Calderwood, when asked about the proposal, said a roundabout could be a problem for fire trucks during peak traffic, when cars may take Carlsbad Boulevard to avoid congestion on Interstate 5.
“The Fire Department does have some concerns that this would affect our ability to respond” in a timely manner to emergencies, Calderwood said.
Carlsbad also has a few traffic circles, which are smaller than roundabouts and tend to be used on less traveled streets in residential neighborhoods.
City staffers presented the council with three options Tuesday for Tamarack: 1) proceed with the roundabout; 2) redesign the intersection with new traffic signals, wider sidewalks and other improvements for about $17 million; or 3) keep it as is with limited improvements to cost about $2 million. The council voted unanimously for the limited improvements.
Mayor Keith Blackburn, who voted against the roundabout two years ago, said his position hasn’t changed.
“That intersection has been running smoothly all these years,” Blackburn said. “It could use a little facelift … (and) I don’t see it costing all that much.”
Councilmember Teresa Acosta agreed, and said the city has other important projects competing for the state and federal grants needed for capital improvements.
Blackburn also suggested the council review its approval of the still unbuilt Cannon Road roundabout. City Manager Geoff Patnoe said the review will be placed on an council agenda.
Like Tamarack, Cannon is a three-way intersection with traffic lights.
