Carlsbad’s southern coastline is largely unchanged from the car-centric 1950s, when Highway 101 (Carlsbad Boulevard) served as the main north-south corridor in the state.

Today, I-5 serves this purpose, creating an opportunity to reclaim the southern coastal corridor as a place for the community to enjoy. In addition to reconfiguring the road to create more public spaces, the road eventually needs to be moved away from the coast to protect it from rising sea levels.

By moving vehicle traffic to the easternmost lanes of Carlsbad Boulevard, about 60 acres of city-owned land spanning three miles of coastline could be freed up for parks, walking paths, bike lanes, parking, picnic areas, artwork and other uses the community would enjoy. To put this in perspective, Carlsbad’s largest park, Poinsettia Community Park, is about 42 acres. The beachfront park at Pine Avenue is less than one acre.

The coast plays an important role in Carlsbad’s identity, quality of life and economy. To make it easier to get to the coast and have a better overall experience when you get there, the City of Carlsbad has completed several projects in recent years. These include:

• Expanding bike lines and walking paths
• Increasing parking
• Rebuilding stairways
• Creating new seating areas
• Protecting bluffs from erosion
• Slowing down traffic
• Adding more crosswalks and making crosswalks safer
• Taking over responsibility from the state to maintain restrooms and picnic areas
• Increasing the hours restrooms are open and cleaning them more often
• Designing gathering and seating areas on the bluff across from the power plant
• Designing new bikelines, parking and sidewalks in the Terramar neighborhood

Most of these projects have been in the north, from around Palomar Airport Road to the Oceanside border. Carlsbad’s southern coastline is largely unchanged from the car-centric 1950s, when Highway 101 (Carlsbad Boulevard) served as the main north-south corridor in the state.

The community has already helped shape the policies in the city's General Plan (a document that spells out policies to help achieve the community's vision of the future), including the guiding principles for south Carlsbad Boulevard. The nine core values in the Carlsbad Community Vision were also developed based on community input.

The City of Carlsbad's General Plan includes several guiding principles for south Carlsbad Boulevard:

• Carlsbad Boulevard shall become more than a road. This transportation corridor shall provide for recreational, aesthetic and community gathering opportunities that equal the remarkable character of the land.
• Community safety shall be a high priority. Create destination that provides a safe public environment to recreate.
• Strategic public access and parking is a key to success. Development shall capitalize on opportunities to add/enhance multiple public access points and public parking for the beach and related recreational amenities.
• Open views are desirable and important to maintaining the character of the area. Preservation and enhancement of views of ocean, lagoons, and other water bodies and beaches shall be a high priority in road, landscaping, and amenity design and development.
• Enhance the area’s vitality through diversity of recreational land uses. Carlsbad Boulevard development shall provide for amenities, services and goods that attract a diversity of residents and visitors.
• Create vibrant and sustainable public spaces. Development shall provide for unique and vibrant coastal gathering spaces where people of all age groups and interests can gather to enjoy recreational and environmental amenities and supporting commercial uses.
• Connect community, place and spirit. Design shall complement and enhance connectivity between existing community and regional land uses.
• Environmentally sensitive design is a key objective. Environmentally sensitive development that respects existing coastal resources is of utmost importance.
• A signature scenic corridor shall be created through design that honors the coastline’s natural beauty. The resulting improvements will capture the ‘essence’ of Carlsbad; making it a special place for people from throughout the region with its natural beauty and vibrant public spaces. Properly carried out, the realigned boulevard will maximize public views and encourage everyone to slow down and enjoy the scenery.
• Reimagining of Carlsbad Boulevard shall be visionary. The reimagined Carlsbad Boulevard corridor will incorporate core community values articulated in the Carlsbad Community Vision by providing:

1. physical connectivity through multi-modal mobility improvements including bikeways, pedestrian trails, and a traffic-calmed street;
2. social connectivity through creation of memorable public spaces; and
3. economic vitality through a combination of visitor and local-serving commercial, civic, and recreational uses and services.

The city's General Plan includes policies for how different types of streets are designed. Carlsbad Boulevard falls under the category of coastal streets, which calls for the following design elements:

• Primary purpose is to move people along the city’s ocean waterfront and connect people to the beach, recreation, businesses and residences in close proximity to the waterfront. The street serves as a destination for people who seek to drive, walk and bicycle along the ocean waterfront.
• Designed to safely move all modes of travel while enhancing mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Vehicle speeds shall be managed to support uses along the coast.
• Enhanced bicycle and pedestrian crossings should be provided, including: – High visibility crosswalks – Enhanced pedestrian notifications (e.g. responsive push-button devices) – Enhanced bicycle detection – Bicycle lanes shall be provided and can be further enhanced or complemented by other facilities (such as bicycle lane buffers or off-street pathways).
• Pedestrian facilities should be a minimum of five feet and shall strive for six to eight feet in width and shall conform to ADA requirements.
• Pedestrian crossing distances should be minimized.
• Trail facilities should be encouraged.
• Opportunities for mid-block pedestrian crossings should be investigated.
• On-street parking should be provided.
• Transit facility and operation improvements should be encouraged.

The Carlsbad coastline project improvements will be made within the city's right-of-way, or city-owned land, represented in blue, along south Carlsbad Boulevard. 

In 2022, the city asked the public to share their priorities for the entire 3-mile stretch of Carlsbad Boulevard from Manzano Drive to La Costa Avenue, including the road itself and the public land that could be freed up if the road were reconfigured. This public input was used to help design the options for the 1-mile stretch between Manzano Drive and Island Way for the grant-funded study.

View the public input report summarizing the key themes and feedback received. 

When it comes to the roadway, some of the priorities shared by the community included:

• Safer bike lanes, including some separated from the flow of car traffic
• Safe, wide walking paths
• Less noise and air pollution from traffic when enjoying the coast
• Slowing down traffic along the coast
• Making it safer to cross the road to get to the coast
• Maintaining ocean views for drivers and residents who live along Carlsbad Boulevard

• At this time, the City Council has not directed staff to proceed with the next steps, which would include preliminary design and engineering of the 3-mile corridor, along with additional community engagement.

April 23, 2024 | City Council
Received a report on how the 1-mile segment of south Carlsbad Boulevard could be managed to protect people, the environment and infrastructure from the effects of anticipated sea level rise, and asked staff to return with information about climate resilience districts.

April 2, 2024 | Beach Preservation Commission
Received a report on how the 1-mile segment of south Carlsbad Boulevard could be managed to protect people, the environment and infrastructure from the effects of anticipated sea level rise, and recommended the option to move infrastructure away from the coast all at once. 

June 20, 2023 | City Council
Approved the two-lane road with roundabouts option to move forward with completing the State Coastal Conservancy grant, which includes a 30% design of the roadway.  

June 6, 2023 | Beach Preservation Commission
Recommended taking a position of preference over one of the roadway options, selecting the two-lane road with roundabouts option. 

June 5, 2023 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
Received a report on traffic study results and recommended two-lane road with roundabouts option to the City Council. 

Sept. 13, 2022 | City Council
Received an update on the south Carlsbad coastline project including the climate adaptation project, community input and next steps for the grant. 

Aug. 18, 2022 | Beach Preservation Commission
Received an update on the south Carlsbad coastline project and south Carlsbad Boulevard Climate Adaptation project roadway options. 

Aug. 17, 2022 | Planning Commission
Received an update on the south Carlsbad coastline project and south Carlsbad Boulevard Climate Adaptation project roadway options. 

July 18, 2022 | Parks & Recreation Commission
Received an update on the south Carlsbad coastline project and south Carlsbad Boulevard Climate Adaptation project roadway options. 

May 5, 2022 | Arts Commission
Received a project update on creating coastal spaces for the future use of south Carlsbad Boulevard. 

April 14, 2022 | Beach Preservation Commission
Received a project update on creating coastal spaces for the future use of south Carlsbad Boulevard. 

March 21, 2022 | Parks & Recreation Commission
Received a project update on creating coastal spaces for the future use of south Carlsbad Boulevard. 

Feb. 7, 2022 | Traffic & Mobility Commission
Received feedback on the values, needs, and priorities for the future use of south Carlsbad Boulevard.

Sept. 21, 2021 | City Council
Received a report about public engagement for the south Carlsbad Boulevard vision and design of the climate adaptation project.