New stop signs at Grand Avenue and Madison Street

Crews with the City of Carlsbad installed a new all-way stop at Grand Avenue and Madison Street on April 22. The project is in response to community concerns about the intersection. After analyzing traffic volumes and patterns, city staff recommend an all-way stop intersection to enhance pedestrian access. The City Council approved the project at its March 24 meeting.

Diagonal parking on Grand Avenue

On March 10, the City Council advanced a project to convert parallel parking to diagonal parking on westbound Grand Avenue between the Tyler Street alley and Jefferson Street. This project will: 

• Reduce the number of westbound lanes on Grand Avenue from two to one
• Create a center turn lane with turn pockets at intersections
• Add 11 new parking spaces

Staff will now begin final design work and return to City Council by the end of the year to award the construction contract for the project. 

Additional parking is coming to the Barrio as part multiple efforts, which include: 

Adding four parking spaces on Chestnut Avenue east of Madison Street, in front of Pine Avenue Community Park.

• Converting five existing parallel spaces to perpendicular parking will increase the total number of spaces along this stretch from five to nine while maintaining existing trees
• Design work is expected to be completed by this fall with construction starting in 2027

Exploring the feasibility of converting parallel parking spaces to diagonal parking on Madison Street, Pine Avenue and Palm Avenue

• This could increase overall parking availability in the Barrio
• The city will work with the community in spring 2026 to explore parking options on these streets

The city will continue to look at additional ways to add more on-street parking throughout the Barrio.

Another way the city is working to improve parking in the Village, Barrio and nearby beach area is through a comprehensive, year-long parking study the City Council approved March 10, 2026. 

A contractor will collect parking data throughout the year as part of the study. The information will supplement parking data collected each summer and help inform recommendations for how the city could improve parking availability and efficiency in the area. The project will also include information gathering from area visitors as well as residents and business owners.

Work on the study is scheduled to begin this spring with completion expected in spring or summer of 2027. Staff will present the final report to the City Council once the study is concluded.

As part of the Village & Barrio Master Plan, the City of Carlsbad created a parking management plan in 2017, which outlines strategies to improve parking availability and efficiency in the area. Since then, the city has completed several of the strategies in the plan, including:

• Adopting the Village & Barrio Master Plan and Transportation Demand Management Plan 
• Hiring two Community Service Officers to improve enforcement and the effectiveness of parking time limits
• Establishing the Carlsbad Commuter program to enhance employer-based transportation demand management
• Installing themed wayfinding signage to direct people to public parking facilities