Carlsbad launches road safety campaign

On Wednesday, the city of Carlsbad launched a campaign calling on the public to come together for road safety.

The goal of the Safer Streets Together campaign is to make the streets of Karlovy Vary safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

The commitment comes after the city declared a local emergency last year due to an increase in collisions involving bicycles and e-bikes.

Last August, the city council approved $2 million in emergency funding — money left over from the previous year’s budget — to pay for police overtime, street projects and a community outreach campaign.

“Since we declared a state of emergency in August, you have probably noticed that there has been an increase in police presence around schools. But that’s not enough,” said City Council member Melanie Burkholder.

She says enforcement has helped, but design is also part of the solution. “We also improved the roads, this is the engineering part,” she said.

The city has added new lanes to over 90 miles of roads.

“Design and control is great, but it won’t solve the problem. We also need your help,” Burkholder said.

The City partners with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and Circulate San Diego for outreach activities.

“We are always happy to work in Karlovy Vary. The Northern District especially has witnessed the emergence of new modes of transportation. This includes e-scooters and e-bikes. All of these things are good, anything that gets people out of their cars and gets them where they’re going the other way,” said Kevin Baross of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

Baross says any new mode of transport or infrastructure change requires training. “In the future, every street will not be twice as wide as it is now to accommodate everyone,” he said. “So we’re going to have to find new ways to get around, and for that people will need to interact a little more, communicate a little more, and slow down a little.

The City will partner with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and Circulate San Diego to provide educational workshops for the local community. The first master class will take place on February 9th.

The Safer Streets Together call is available on the city’s website.