• There are approximately 67 miles of existing public trails in the City of Carlsbad
• The Trails Master Plan will help ensure the city makes the most of its current trails and takes advantage of opportunities to expand the system
• It was developed over the past four years with input from the community, natural resource agencies and others interested in trails and open space

The City of Carlsbad Trails Master Plan builds on past trail planning and development efforts to provide a framework for the city’s comprehensive trail system with the goals of:

• Connecting people to nature
• Making it easy to get around town on foot and by bicycle
• Connecting to regional trails and trails in neighboring cities
• Preserving natural resources
• Promoting health and wellness
• Enhancing tourism
• Furthering the goals and policies in the city’s General Plan

The master plan was developed based on public input gathered during public meetings, an online survey and feedback on draft documents. Based on this input, city staff focused the plan on the following objectives:

• Create a connected and complete trail system
• Identify existing trails and future trail development opportunities
• Accommodate a variety of trail users in safe and environmentally sensitive manner
• Increase recreational opportunities
• Integrate transportation (going to school, running errands, etc.) as part of the trail system

Approval Schedule

Upon the end of the public review and comment period for the environmental documents, staff responded to the comments collected, and made revisions to the master plan. 

Ultimately, the trails master plan will go before the City of Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning Commission for review, and then back to the City Council for potential adoption. The tentative schedule for these meetings is as follows:

• Parks & Recreation Commission - June 17, 2019: Parks & Recreation Commission forwarded the updated Trails Master Plan to the City Council for adoption.
• Planning Commission - July 17, 2019: Planning Commission approved an amendment to the General Plan - so it is consistent with the Trails Master Plan, and approved the environmental documents prepared for the Trails Master Plan.
• City Council - Aug. 27, 2019: City Council adopted an amendment to the General Plan - so it is consistent with the Trails Master Plan, and adopted the updated Trails Master Plan and related environmental documents.

Implementation

The City of Carlsbad Parks & Recreation Department will utilize the Trails Master Plan to manage the citywide trails system and ensure its future availability and sustainability.

Open space in Carlsbad
Trails Master Plan
Environmental Documents
Upcoming trail volunteer events
Happy Trails newsletter
“Hub Park” info
Trail maps

How many miles of trails does the city have now and how many will it have after the Trails Master Plan is implemented?

Today the city has approximately 67 miles of publicly accessible trails. The Trails Master Plan identifies 41 miles of future trails connections that would bring the grand total of publicly accessible trails to 108 miles. 

When will the city develop more trails?

City staff will utilize the Trails Master Plan to manage the citywide trails system and ensure its future availability and sustainability. The timing of trails additions will be dependent largely upon the entity responsible for their construction. Some segments will be built by the city. In another case, the I-5 Freeway North Coast Bike Trail is part of the I-5 widening project, and its construction depends on the schedule for that project. Several other future links are conditioned by private development, such as the “Poinsettia 61” Trail along Poinsettia Lane west of El Camino Real, where developers are required to construct a public trail as a condition of the project’s approval.  

What does the Trails Master Plan say about the “Hub Park” trail on the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon?

The parcel known as “Hub Park” has about a mile long future loop trail, which is included in the Trails Master Plan. The city leases this land from SDG&E, but it is surrounded by land not controlled by the city, meaning there is currently no way for the public to legally access a trail. The master plan includes a conceptual alignment that would connect the Hub Park trail to the citywide trails network and be accessible to the public. That trail would ultimately provide a connection to the south side of Cannon Road, through existing underpasses. Since the city does not own or lease the adjacent land, we would need to successfully negotiate an easement with the property owner to complete this alignment. Trails are also envisioned on the 48 acre property adjacent to I-5, on the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.  This parcel, which is next to the strawberry fields, is currently zoned for development, and a future developer would be required to create trails as a condition of the development’s approval.  

How much will implementing the Trails Master Plan cost?

The master plan doesn’t include an overall budget.  The estimated cost of each trail segment listed is based on historic data gathered on trails developed in conjunction with the Parks & Recreation Department between 2010 and 2015. The estimated project cost is for general construction and does not include permitting, environmental review or auxiliary trail items such as culverts, special stream crossings, or bridges, which may significantly increase the cost of the trail segment. It also does not include maintenance of the trails.

How does the city decide when to develop new trails and how many?

There are a few ways the city adds trails to its system. One way is through private development. When developers want to build, the city often requires them to develop public trails as a condition of approval. The advantage of constructing these trails is that the city doesn’t need to use taxpayer money. The city also develops new trails on its own. Recently efforts have focused on connecting existing trails rather than creating new, stand alone trails. Finally, homeowners associations, nonprofit organizations and other government agencies develop trails and grant the city “easements,” allowing the public to use them.

1990

The City Council appointed an open space ad hoc committee to advise the city on the development of an open space and trails system. Recommendations from the committee were used to conduct a trails feasibility study, which laid the groundwork for planning trails within the city.

1992

The Open Space and Conservation Resource Management Plan expanded upon the study and provided the framework for the city’s trail development and maintenance.

2001

The City Council approved the Citywide Trails Program Report which outlined the future vision and immediate steps to be taken to implement what was commonly referred to as the Citywide Trails Plan.

2002

The Citywide Trail 5 Year Implementation Plan was developed and identified which city trail segments would become part of the city’s system (previously privately maintained and used) and built over the next five years, as part of private development and by the city. The Citywide Trail Maintenance Plan was also developed at this time.

Nov 2013 – Feb 2014

City staff solicited feedback from the public on trail locations, areas where improvements are needed, gaps, and how to improve the safety, condition of existing trails and user experience.

2015

City Council adopted an updated General Plan, which includes a section called the Open Space, Conservation and Recreation Element. This section identified a need to develop a comprehensive Trail Master Plan focused on diversified user groups and connectivity.

2017

The environmental report for the draft Trails Master Plan was released for a public review.  Twenty-five comment letters were received during the 30-day public review period.  The letters were either comments about the revised draft TMP and/or the associated environmental document. Staff engaged with several trails stakeholders groups to discuss alignments of the selected proposed segments.

2019

Staff responded to the comments received during the 30-day public review, revised the draft TMP and finalized the environmental report. City Council adopted the Trails Master Plan on Aug. 27.

This update for trails planning in the city will build on the previous efforts and provide a comprehensive planning document to reference for developing and maintaining the city’s trail system into the future.

Some of the key themes to emerge from the public input process included:

Make the city more “walkable”

Make the city more pedestrian friendly in general, including improving the safety and overall experience walking in neighborhoods, especially safe routes to schools. Many of these comments are being addressed by the city’s transportation planners, but opportunities to modify the trails system to meet these goals have been included in the Trails Master Plan.

Balance access to nature with the need to protect nature

Community members want as much access to natural open spaces as possible but realize that in some cases open space must be kept off limits to protect sensitive plant and animal species. The Trails Master Plan attempts to strike the right balance between these two goals

Connect trails to each other and develop new ones

Many people would like to see more connections between existing trails and open spaces throughout the city. Some support a wider variety of uses in open spaces, such as biking or dog walking. A number of comments focused on expanding opportunities for mountain biking.

Trail improvements

Community members said they’d like to see more amenities including trash cans, pet waste receptacles and bathrooms. Other comments identified the desire to make trails safer through increased lighting and increased enforcement.

Other Suggestions

The city was not able to incorporate all the suggestions resulting from the public outreach process. Here's why:

Land the city does not control

Several suggestions were related to land not owned or controlled by the city. In these cases, city staff can encourage property owners to consider the suggestions, but the ultimate decision is theirs.

Protecting habitat

Some ideas could not be included because of concerns about habitat protection.

Changing trail uses

Some members of the public asked the city to consider single track trails, such as trails just for biking or hiking, and trails where dogs are not allowed. City staff decided to keep trails open for multiple users to maximize the benefits of the trails system. Equestrian use is the exception, and is only allowed on two trail segments in southeast Carlsbad where they connect to Encinitas trails system.

How Input Was Gathered

• Online survey - November 27, 2013 - February 28, 2014
• Public workshop - February 26, 2014
• Trails Master Plan Update Public Review - March 2015
• Public Agencies Workshop  - March 2016
• Project information on the city website
• E- blasts to stakeholders
• Meetings with land managers, resource agencies, non-profit and lagoon foundations and members of the community
• Traffic Safety Commission Meeting – March 6, 2017
• Beach Preservation Committee Meeting – March 14, 2017
• General Public & Trails Volunteers Meeting – March 16, 2017
• Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Meeting – March 18, 2017
• Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting  – March 20, 2017
• Mitigated Negative Declaration and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program Public Review – April 2017
• Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting - June 17, 2019
• Planning Commission Meeting - July 17, 2019
• City Council Meeting - Aug. 27, 2019