No single solution will make our streets safer. Instead, it requires the three Es of traffic safety:  education, engineering and enforcement.

When it comes to engineering, the City of Carlsbad uses many different design solutions, depending on a street's location, size and use.

Designing for all users

Most of Carlsbad’s transportation system was built during the last 35 years, coinciding with the city’s period of major growth. The policies that guided this development were focused mostly on creating capacity on city roads so cars could travel without delays.

In 2015, the City Council approved a new vision that recognizes that the city’s transportation strategies in the future will be different. Instead of large new master planned communities, Carlsbad will likely see what is known as “infill development.” Infill development refers to building on unused and underutilized land, usually denser projects that also help meet housing and environmental sustainability goals. 

Complete streets

Carlsbad’s transportation policies now focus on protecting and enhancing the community’s quality of life as it is described in the core values of the Carlsbad Community Vision. The community’s vision calls for better pedestrian and bicycle connections between neighborhoods, shops and other parts of the community and a balanced approach to road design that considers all users.

Carlsbad isn’t the only one changing its thinking about transportation. The state and federal governments have also shifted their focus to what is known as “complete streets.” Complete streets are streets that are safe and inviting for all users, including people of all ages and abilities, regardless of whether they are driving, biking, walking or taking public transportation.

Because most of Carlsbad’s streets have already been built, and most were designed primarily with the car in mind, the city must now adapt and reconfigure hundreds of miles of existing roads to meet these goals.

See how we create complete streets

Traffic calming

Traffic calming refers to changes to the road designed to improve safety by slowing down cars. Street design is important because it’s a self-enforcing way to “calm” traffic and create safe streets for everyone. 

Think of it this way: People generally drive as fast as is comfortable given the roadway conditions. That’s why people drive at higher speeds on wide, straight stretches but more slowly when navigating down a narrow, winding road. 

Visual cues, like a curve in the road, a narrow lane, a median, parked cars and other perceived obstacles, cause drivers to naturally slow down and pay more attention to the road. Transportation engineers call this friction. 

Horizontal deflection prevents drivers from going in a straight line by creating a horizontal shift in the roadway. This shift forces drivers to slow down to comfortably navigate the change in the road. 

Vertical deflection creates a change in the height of the roadway, which forces drivers to slow down to maintain a comfortable ride.

See examples of these and other tools the City of Carlsbad uses to make sure streets safe for everyone.