Wider sidewalks with new handrails, lighting and stairways to the beach are a step closer for Carlsbad’s popular blufftop promenade.
Updated plans for the 10-block stretch along the west side of Carlsbad Boulevard between Tamarack and Pine avenues were presented Monday to the city’s Traffic and Mobility Commission, which recommended the City Council’s approval.
Built in the 1980s and badly deteriorated by the salt air, the scenic walkway remains one of North County’s favorite attractions for residents and tourists. Lately, though, the four sets of stairways and landings down to the serpentine seawall along the beach have lost their luster, with peeling paint, crumbling concrete steps and exposed, rusting rebar.
Construction is expected to start by early 2025 and could be completed in about 20 months, said Hossein Ajideh, the city’s engineering manager. Public access to the beach will be maintained throughout the work.
The sidewalk between Pine and Maple avenues, now about 9 feet wide, will be widened to almost 12 feet by extending the cantilevered concrete slab farther out over the bluff. About half the increase will come from the extension, and half will come from removing a guardrail on the sidewalk at the side of the road.
Between Maple and Cherry avenues, the existing 8-foot, 9-inch sidewalk will be widened 17 inches at grade without going over the bluff.
In both sections the sidewalk surfaces will be completely replaced, and new 42-inch-tall railings will be installed.
A year ago the city estimated construction costs at $14 million.
Some commissioners expressed concern Monday about removing the guardrail.
“We are going to put more pedestrians in danger,” said Commissioner Peter Kohl.
However, city staffers said the guardrail was installed many years ago to protect vehicles from going over the cliff, not for pedestrian safety, and that if hit by a vehicle the guardrail would flex into the walkway. Also, the guardrail is not required by current traffic standards, and it has become an obstacle to cyclists and pedestrians.
Lane reductions, pedestrian crosswalks and other safety features have slowed traffic on Carlsbad Boulevard over the years and reduced the need for guardrails, Ajideh said. Most segments of the boulevard, also known as Highway 101, have no guardrail.
Another commissioner said she has seen cyclists stop along the guardrail and grab the steel to themselves, cutting their hands in the process.
Commissioner Pete Penseyres suggested staffers collect traffic data to show how many times vehicles have gone off Carlsbad Boulevard and hit pedestrians. The information could be presented to the City Council when it considers the improvement plans later this year.
“You can never make a sidewalk too wide,” Penseyres said.
City officials have been discussing the plan for about two years with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns the beach, bluffs and landscaped area atop the bluffs. Carlsbad has an agreement with the state that allows the city to maintain the area to higher standards than it would be otherwise as a state park.
The proposal previously included work to the sidewalks and stairway at the Tamarack Avenue restroom building. Those improvements have been postponed and will be part of the separate ADA accessibility project still in design.
The project is one of several Carlsbad is working on to make access to the beach easier and safer, whether for driving, biking or walking.
A few years ago the city upgraded seven stairways to the beach farther north along Ocean Street, widening some and adding benches, tile and other features.
