City making improvements to Village storm drains
Work crews are installing new storm drains along two vital streets in the Carlsbad Village as part of a city program to improve drainage in northwestern Carlsbad, which has some of the oldest infrastructure in the city.
The project is located along Roosevelt and Madison streets, between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue.
The City of Carlsbad project, which began in early April and is expected to last until July 20, consists of laying new pipes beneath the streets and constructing storm water inlets, called catch basins, at the surface. Before this project began storm water drained along the curbs and gutters guided by small sections of PVC pipe, which couldn't handle large volumes of rainwater.
Businesses along Roosevelt and Madison streets will remain open during the project, and the city and contractor will do their best to minimize any inconvenience to merchants and their customers. The project entails construction work, called trenching, in the two streets.
When the project is complete, crews will have installed 420 feet of new 18-inch-diameter reinforced concrete pipe and 56 feet of new 12-inch-diameter PVC pipe. The storm water project also includes installation of four new catch basins and four cleanouts that will connect to the existing storm drain systems on Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue. It also includes the improvement of mid-block crosswalks on each street and new paving.
Traffic signal technology cuts commute times
The City of Carlsbad has significantly improved traffic flow along the city's busiest corridors by installing a new wireless network that linked 55 traffic signals to the city's new traffic management center in the last six months.
The new wireless network connects traffic signal electrical equipment, vehicle detection sensors and cameras to a central computer at the city's administrative center on Faraday Avenue. With the new system city traffic engineers have the ability to view live video feeds and optimize Carlsbad's traffic flow by synchronizing the timing of green lights.
"We're seeing substantial travel time improvements on El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road," said Doug Bilse, the City of Carlsbad's senior traffic engineer. "A majority of our traffic is traveling on Palomar Airport Road or El Camino Real, so if we can keep those corridors flowing smoothly we have handled the most important transportation links in the City of Carlsbad."
Bilse said the project also implemented new signal timing plans along roadways serving the Carlsbad Research Center, a major business park in the city's geographic center, "so employees there should see a significant improvement in their commutes each day."
Last year the city made a significant investment in the traffic signal system, and Bilse said it is already paying dividends. As an example, Bilse said, the time it takes to drive on Palomar Airport Road from the Interstate 5 interchange to Melrose Avenue was reduced by almost four minutes during the afternoon peak rush.
The new equipment also enables the city to respond to public reports of malfunctions more quickly and economically.
City offers free mediation service
The City of Carlsbad is offering a new service to help neighbors resolve disputes using trained volunteer mediators who are members of the Carlsbad community.
"Often if you can get into the same room with a neutral third party to help talk through the issues, grievances can be resolved," said Sue Irey, the city's volunteer coordinator. "Mediation is free, quick, confidential and will take place in Carlsbad. The goal of the program is to help residents address issues in a positive setting, rather than letting situations escalate."
According to Irey, the types of issues commonly resolved through mediation involve property maintenance disputes, animal nuisance complaints, noise and neighbor-to-neighbor conflicts. The city's program will not be used for disputes between landlords and tenants, nor between property owners and HOAs.
"This service provides a good opportunity to mediate a dispute that may otherwise end up in court," Irey said.
City volunteers have undergone intensive training and received certification through the National Conflict Resolution Center. Mediation sessions usually last about three or four hours.
Carlsbad makes open space gains
The City of Carlsbad has conserved an additional estimated 80 acres of natural open space for plants and animals this past year under its Habitat Management Plan.
City staff recently released the plan's draft annual report for 2010-11, which shows that the city is within 10 percent of reaching the Habitat Management Plan's goal for habitat preservation. The plan calls for the city to set aside 6,478 acres of open space when the city is built out, and Carlsbad has succeeded in setting aside 5,821 acres in the seven years since the plan was adopted.
Carlsbad is the only city in Northern San Diego County with an approved habitat management plan. City officials worked for almost 15 years to perfect the plan, and it was approved by state and federal environmental agencies in November 2004.
? Source: City of Carlsbad
Work crews are installing new storm drains along two vital streets in the Carlsbad Village as part of a city program to improve drainage in northwestern Carlsbad, which has some of the oldest infrastructure in the city.
The project is located along Roosevelt and Madison streets, between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue.
The City of Carlsbad project, which began in early April and is expected to last until July 20, consists of laying new pipes beneath the streets and constructing storm water inlets, called catch basins, at the surface. Before this project began storm water drained along the curbs and gutters guided by small sections of PVC pipe, which couldn't handle large volumes of rainwater.
Businesses along Roosevelt and Madison streets will remain open during the project, and the city and contractor will do their best to minimize any inconvenience to merchants and their customers. The project entails construction work, called trenching, in the two streets.
When the project is complete, crews will have installed 420 feet of new 18-inch-diameter reinforced concrete pipe and 56 feet of new 12-inch-diameter PVC pipe. The storm water project also includes installation of four new catch basins and four cleanouts that will connect to the existing storm drain systems on Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue. It also includes the improvement of mid-block crosswalks on each street and new paving.
Traffic signal technology cuts commute times
The City of Carlsbad has significantly improved traffic flow along the city's busiest corridors by installing a new wireless network that linked 55 traffic signals to the city's new traffic management center in the last six months.
The new wireless network connects traffic signal electrical equipment, vehicle detection sensors and cameras to a central computer at the city's administrative center on Faraday Avenue. With the new system city traffic engineers have the ability to view live video feeds and optimize Carlsbad's traffic flow by synchronizing the timing of green lights.
"We're seeing substantial travel time improvements on El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road," said Doug Bilse, the City of Carlsbad's senior traffic engineer. "A majority of our traffic is traveling on Palomar Airport Road or El Camino Real, so if we can keep those corridors flowing smoothly we have handled the most important transportation links in the City of Carlsbad."
Bilse said the project also implemented new signal timing plans along roadways serving the Carlsbad Research Center, a major business park in the city's geographic center, "so employees there should see a significant improvement in their commutes each day."
Last year the city made a significant investment in the traffic signal system, and Bilse said it is already paying dividends. As an example, Bilse said, the time it takes to drive on Palomar Airport Road from the Interstate 5 interchange to Melrose Avenue was reduced by almost four minutes during the afternoon peak rush.
The new equipment also enables the city to respond to public reports of malfunctions more quickly and economically.
City offers free mediation service
The City of Carlsbad is offering a new service to help neighbors resolve disputes using trained volunteer mediators who are members of the Carlsbad community.
"Often if you can get into the same room with a neutral third party to help talk through the issues, grievances can be resolved," said Sue Irey, the city's volunteer coordinator. "Mediation is free, quick, confidential and will take place in Carlsbad. The goal of the program is to help residents address issues in a positive setting, rather than letting situations escalate."
According to Irey, the types of issues commonly resolved through mediation involve property maintenance disputes, animal nuisance complaints, noise and neighbor-to-neighbor conflicts. The city's program will not be used for disputes between landlords and tenants, nor between property owners and HOAs.
"This service provides a good opportunity to mediate a dispute that may otherwise end up in court," Irey said.
City volunteers have undergone intensive training and received certification through the National Conflict Resolution Center. Mediation sessions usually last about three or four hours.
Carlsbad makes open space gains
The City of Carlsbad has conserved an additional estimated 80 acres of natural open space for plants and animals this past year under its Habitat Management Plan.
City staff recently released the plan's draft annual report for 2010-11, which shows that the city is within 10 percent of reaching the Habitat Management Plan's goal for habitat preservation. The plan calls for the city to set aside 6,478 acres of open space when the city is built out, and Carlsbad has succeeded in setting aside 5,821 acres in the seven years since the plan was adopted.
Carlsbad is the only city in Northern San Diego County with an approved habitat management plan. City officials worked for almost 15 years to perfect the plan, and it was approved by state and federal environmental agencies in November 2004.
? Source: City of Carlsbad