A new public art piece is coming to the Barrio, in the future traffic circle planned at Pine Avenue and Harding Street, and we’re inviting community members to help shape the design. 

Artist Mario Torero will spend the last week of July meeting with community members in the neighborhood to gather the stories, memories, symbols and ideas that will help inform his design concept. Spanish interpretation will be available at all events:

• Saturday, July 25, 2 to 5 p.m. – Pine Avenue Community Center, 3209 Harding St. (outside the front entrance)
• Monday, July 27, 2 to 4 p.m. – Carlsbad Library Learning Center, 3368 Eureka Place
• Wednesday, July 29, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Lola's 7 Up Market & Deli, 3292 Roosevelt St.
• Wednesday, July 29, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Señor Grubby's, 377 Carlsbad Village Drive 

If you can’t attend in person, you can provide input online or through a bilingual hotline established by the artist team: 

• Take a short survey by Friday, Aug. 7
• Share input by text or phone through the artist team's bilingual hotline at 760-306-3270 

Background 

In July 2025, the City Council voted to move forward with the Barrio traffic calming project, which includes this one new traffic circle at the intersection of Pine Avenue and Harding Street, instead of five traffic circles as previously proposed. This was followed by the approval of several other improvements at various intersections to reduce speeds in the Barrio and improve neighborhood safety and walkability. The traffic circle public art is funded through the city's Art in Public Places Program.  

A public art advisory subcommittee including community representatives, arts and transportation professionals, and Arts Commissioners, selected Mario Torero as the artist to complete this public art piece. Mario has worked closely with Victor Ochoa, the artist who created the “Four Stages of History” mural in the Barrio, as a co-founder of San Diego’s world-famous Chicano Park and the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.