Let's be Safer Together, Carlsbad!

The City of Carlsbad uses the three Es of traffic safety -- education, engineering and enforcement -- to help ensure everyone uses local streets safely. Thanks to your support, it's working! Please continue to look out for one another, follow our safety tips and share your commitment publicly so others will do the same.

New e-bike laws

New e-bike laws are now in effect in Carlsbad. Here is what to expect: 

  • Anyone operating an e-bike must be at least 12 years old, as allowed by Assembly Bill 2234.
  • When a minor breaks the rules and creates an immediate or substantial public safety risk, their e-bike may be impounded. The minor must complete an in-person safety course to retrieve the e-bike, and a parent or guardian must be present when the e-bike is released. 
  • The Police Department can also impound e-motorcycles, which are not street legal. 
  • E-bikes are prohibited at Poinsettia and Pine Avenue Community Parks. 

Additionally, the city's previously existing laws have been updated to provide additional clarity on safe riding behavior, including:

  • Riders must go at a safe speed for the conditions, factoring in weather, whether pedestrians are present and how quickly other traffic is moving.
  • Riders under 18 years old must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet.
  • Only e-bikes designed for passengers can carry more than one rider.

  • Parents are responsible for knowingly allowing their children to commit violations. 

E-bike chart with e-motorcycles

More information

E-bike laws overview
View the new ordinance  
Watch a recording of the City Council meeting 

Safety classes

Several organizations off bike and e-bike safety courses online: 

Give input on Barrio traffic circles

Post Date:07/07/2025 1:43 PM

The Carlsbad City Council is seeking community input before its July 29 meeting on whether to move forward with a project to install traffic circles at five intersections in the Barrio or explore different ways to reduce speeding. 

Learn more

What’s proposed 

  • As part of an overall goal of improving traffic safety and walkability, the Village and Barrio Master Plan calls for adding traffic circles, curb extensions or enhanced crosswalks in the Barrio. 
  • On June 24, 2025, the City Council postponed a decision to award a construction contract for the project, given parking impacts and recent community feedback about traffic circles and roundabouts in Carlsbad. 

Potential parking impacts

  • If the traffic circles project is completed as proposed, 27 existing parking spaces would be removed. 
  • Additionally, 11 spaces will be lost whether or not the project moves forward, due to a new state “daylighting law,” which restricts parking within 20 feet of marked or unmarked crosswalks or 15 feet if there are curb extensions.
  • The map below shows how many parking spaces would be removed at each intersection, either due to the proposed traffic circles or because of the new state law.

Barrio traffic circle map with parking

Barrio parking analysis

The city is analyzing opportunities to increase on-street parking in the Barrio to help offset the parking impacts of the project, which includes evaluating: 

  • Existing red curbs that may be updated based on an engineering review 
  • Existing parallel parking spaces on wider streets that could be converted to diagonal parking
  • Parking near the intersection of Madison Street and Chestnut Avenue, as requested by the City Council in March 2025

How to provide input

The City Council will review options and consider community input during its meeting on July 29, 2025. There are three ways to provide input: 

City Council meeting
Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 5 p.m. 
City Council Chamber
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive

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