Looking for a fun evening of pirate-themed activities? Join us for the City of Carlsbad’s annual Pirate Plunge on Saturday, March 29, at Alga Norte Aquatic Center, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Pool activities and games
Come dressed in your swimsuit and enjoy a variety of pool activities and games, including:
Diving for treasure, ship raider races and walking the plank.
The splash pad will be open for younger children to enjoy.
Dry activities include a pirate ship slide, a photo op and a treasure hunt, where kids can follow a map to collect hidden treasures around the pool decks.
Additional information
Skip the lines! Pick up your wristbands at Alga Norte Aquatic Center the week before the event.
Online presale ends at 5 p.m. on the Friday before the event. If tickets are still available, wristbands can be purchased at the event.
Food will be available for purchase.
For safety reasons, only pool noodles and U.S. Coast Guard-approved floatation devices are allowed in the pool.
Event may be modified or canceled due to weather conditions.
Pirate Plunge
Saturday, March 29
5 to 8 p.m.
Alga Norte Aquatic Center
6565 Alicante Road
Tickets: $15 per person (children ages 3 and under are free but must be registered) Click the link to register.
As we predicted, the planned three month renovation of Carlsbad’s Alga Norte Pool complex has been extended three more weeks to the first week of March 2025 rather than the planned second week of February, according to an update from the City of Carlsbad.
Work started in November, with crews draining the pool and removing the old plaster that lined the walls. During that process, the city identified additional pool repairs that need to be addressed to ensure the Alga Norte Aquatic Center will continue to serve the community for years to come. The city is taking the opportunity to complete that work now, and the aquatic center is scheduled to reopen the first week of March.
Will be interesting to see if they can stick to the deadline without discovering more that needs to be fixed. Can you tell we use the pool a lot? You’re right we do. One downside, as soon as Alga Norte reopens the Monroe Pool next to Carlsbad High will close for 18 months for their total remodel. Yes, that one and a half YEARS. Upgrades.
Proving once again that Carlsbad, California is a city owned and operated by a cartel of those well over 50 years of age, the City has shamelessly announced that (after decades of ignoring skateboarders in Carlsbad) the City Council has approved locations for the “design and construction” of eight new, outdoor pickleball courts and NOT ONE new skateboard park. Not one.
When approving the master plan last September, the City Council considered how to best meet the growing demand for pickleball courts, ultimately deciding against converting existing tennis courts or creating shared courts, even though those options could be completed more quickly than designing and constructing new pickleball courts. Feedback from tennis players and pickleball players alike led the City Council to opt for new, dedicated pickleball courts. The proposed eight courts will take about two years to complete.
Guess the pickleball players are loud in more ways than one. For the official word from the City of Carlsbad, please follow the jump.
The City of Carlsbad is doing their best in mitigating traffic issues around town. They’ve developed training programs for e-bikes, handed out Safer Together Slow Down Carlsbad signs, and even declared a state of local emergency when it comes to traffic problems. But one effort stands out as their oddest work yet. And that is the intersection of Valley Street and Tamarack Avenue.
Located at the southeast corner of Valley Middle School the intersection is jammed morning and afternoon by kids walking to and from school, parents driving their kids to and from school, and angry commuters just trying to get up or down Tamarack. It obviously needed some kind of traffic solution, but what the City came up with is one of the most confusing, least understood traffic lights in all of Carlsbad. In fact, it is the first such intersection application in the City. It’s called a “pedestrian hybrid signal” a.k.a. Hawk signal.
The lights only function when a pedestrian presses the button to cross the street. The rest of the time the signals simply tower over the intersection like loitering giants with nothing to do. During the morning and afternoon school commute, however, the lights blast out a nearly unintelligible series of red and yellow lights. Sometimes blinking, other times solid. But with nary a green light to be seen.
The City of Carlsbad should have known their solution to the intersection was a failure when they were forced to implement an extensive educational campaign (including light boards on both sides of the intersection) explaining how drivers should use it. Sadly, few paid attention to the educational materials and now that the light boards are gone most drivers continue to be mystified by how to proceed through the intersection once a pedestrian has pressed the crossing button.
So, to help everyone out. Here’s how it works.
The Valley Street side of the intersection is ALWAYS A STOP SIGN. Drivers heading south on Valley need to stop, then proceed through the intersection when safe as they would at any other stop sign in the city. If the crosswalk lights are on, however, drivers must wait at the stop line until the lights go off and the intersection is clear. This one is pretty simple.
Drivers on Tamarack (goin east or west) have several options. And this is where most of the chaos originates. When no lights are on, drivers may proceed through the intersection at a safe speed like there is no stop sign at all. When the button has been pressed by a pedestrian the light begins flashing yellow, it means the intersection is about to turn into a stop signal and drivers should roll through with caution. When the light turn solid red, drivers should stop and wait. When the red light begins blinking, drivers may proceed as if it were a stop sign. They should not do what most drivers do and sit stopped at the intersection while the red light is blinking. Again, the blinking red light is just like a stop sign. Stop, then proceed when it is safe.
On school days the intersection also has a energetic, brave, and kind crossing guard mornings and afternoons who acts as the ringmaster for this circus. We’ve never seen the crossing guard go against any of the previously listed lighting cues, but if and when they do, then drivers should follow any and all directions from the crossing guard regardless of what is going on with the flashing or static lights.
It’s that simple. Any questions? Here’s the graphic if you’re a visual learner.
The oddest part about the entire solution is that a simple three-way stop i.e. adding stop signs on both directions of Tamarack Avenue, would have solved most all of the intersection’s problems. City Staff did not think that was a good idea. Sadly, they were wrong.
[Editors Note: Last night (April 3, 2023) the City of Carlsbad Traffic and Mobility Commission met to update everyone on general traffic issues and specifically hear a report from City Staff on how the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Valley Street is working. As is usually the case, City Staff believes that what the City has done is the right thing and their report seemed overly positive. To hear the City report and see the comment from one person Click here.]
While it shouldn’t be all that surprising (seeing as Carlsbad seems loaded with members of the “screw you, me-first” crowd) more than 25,000 people actually voted against updating the facilities at Carlsbad’s 40-year-old Monroe public pool. It’s sad that nearly half the voting community didn’t see the need for a good swimming pool facility that can be used by both the community and the students of Carlsbad High School. Thankfully, 26,576 people voted in favor of spending close to $24 million to update the entire pool facility. So it’s going to happen. And to those people we say thank you!
Here are a few of the things we can all look forward to:
• Expansion of pool for larger swimming (50% more lanes) and water polo competitions
• New 8-foot wall with gates along Monroe Street side to reduce sound from the pool
• Larger pool deck with lockers
• New exterior deck showers
• Renovated locker rooms
• More shade structures
• More bleachers
• Larger parking lot
• New entrances including an outdoor option that will no longer require passing through the locker rooms
• Reconfigured lobby, new first aid/administration offices and meeting/event room
• Replacement of pool tile, plaster, piping, pool deck, drainage, pumps and filters
• New building with mechanical room and family restrooms
• Separate mechanical room access for service vehicles to reduce parking lot impacts for users
• Replacement of existing solar water heating system and installation of rooftop solar panels to generate electricity
• Enhancement of equipment storage space
We’re seriously looking forward to the Village finally having a pool that’s as nice as the one at Alga Norte. A place where all of Carlsbad’s kids can learn to swim, cool off in the summer, and develop skills that may help them get a full ride college scholarship. And to those who voted NO, you’ll still be able to use the updated pool anyway. We are a community, after all. If you’d like to stay updated on any and all projects the City of Carlsbad has in the works, click here to sign up for the emails!
Have a problem that needs a solution? First thing you need is money. And thanks to a vote by the Carlsbad City Council last night (August 30, 2022) the City of Carlsbad, through its “state of emergency” proclamation, now has $2 million more to put toward making our streets safer for everyone. . . even entitled, belligerent drivers who believe that anything on the road that is not a speeding car is a nuisance.
According to the City, the money will be immediately spent on the following:
Increasing traffic enforcement by the Police Department
Buying more message boards and speed feedback signs
A new traffic safety training program offered by the city
A safe driving and riding education program
Projects to change the striping on roads to allow more space for bikes and increasing the visibility of bike lanes and crosswalks
Sure, some will argue that emergency proclamations simply allow a city to get around all kinds of red tape when it comes to spending money, but it is great to see the City moving forward on street safety. And really, who doesn’t want more money going to the hard working men and women of law enforcement? For the official word from the city of Carlsbad, please follow the jump.
After an apparently huge increase in the number bicycles being hit by cars (233% increase since 2019) the City of Carlsbad, California has declared a local state of emergency. Here’s how City Manager Scott Chadwick explains it.
“The exponential increase in ridership, especially among young people, has significantly changed how people are using Carlsbad’s roads,” Chadwick said. “In addition to adding miles of new bike lanes, we’ve passed new laws, promoted awareness and ramped up enforcement. Despite these efforts, we continue to see collisions, including two tragic fatalities within the past 17 days.”
As much as the Carlsbad Police Department seems to like blaming bicyclists for these collisions, the truth is that the distracted driving of automobiles plays a very large part. While the digital sign board on Carlsbad Boulevard reminds people that the Police are “enforcing all bicycle laws,” there is much more that needs to be done to enforce all laws of the road, including the 3-foot rule that protects cyclists.
We will all need to work together to make Carlsbad’s streets safer for everyone. If you drive, put your phone down and drive slower. If you bike, do you best to be visible and make your intentions known ahead of time. And it great that the City is taking action.
For the official word from the City of Carlsbad, please click the link.
The City of Carlsbad is apparently cracking down on the roving gangs of e-bikers who continually swerve through our city streets by adding some new rules of the road for the underage electric motorcycle riders.
What are these new rules? Well, things like “always ride with care,” no passengers “on handlebars,” don’t ride “on sidewalks,” and rather than scaring the bejeezus out of dog-walking pedestrians by blasting past them on the city’s trail systems, e-bikers must now “get off their e-bike on trails less than 5 feet wide when they’re within 50 feet of a pedestrian.” Get out your tape measures.
It will be interesting to see how the Carlsbad Police department will enforce these new rules. For the official word from the City along with a list of e-bike info sources, please follow the jump.
Inewsource has a great, in-depth story by Cody Dulaney about how San Diego County Police Departments are using the data they collect from license plate reading cameras illegally–including, but not limited to, our own Carlsbad Police Department.
inewsource found police in Carlsbad, Coronado, Escondido, La Mesa and Oceanside had been sharing location data collected in those jurisdictions with hundreds of other agencies across the country. Small police departments in states like Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois have been given access to information about drivers in San Diego County. State law says license plate data can only be shared with agencies in California.
To their credit it appears that the Carlsbad Police Department has changed several of their policies after being questioned about them. But still, if you care about how Carlsbad police are using technology to follow you around 24-7, then you really should read this report.
Before we even knew that Carlsbad’s Libraries were helping the County of San Diego distribute COVID rapid tests (The library got .01 kits per City of Carlsbad resident) we’re getting word that the Libraries of Carlsbad are already out of the kits. No real surprise there.
Here are all the details from the City of Carlsbad:
Carlsbad libraries out of COVID-19 test kits
Carlsbad libraries have given out their full supply of free COVID-19 rapid test kits provided through a partnership with San Diego County. The county provided 1,500 rapid test kits to Carlsbad libraries Monday, Dec. 27, as part of a program that distributed kits to libraries throughout the San Diego region.
When and how to get tested
The California Department of Public Health issued updated testing guidance Dec. 17. It recommends testing in the following circumstances:
If you have symptoms
Vaccinated or not, get tested immediately if you’re feeling any COVID-19 symptoms.
If you were exposed
Vaccinated people should get tested within 5-7 days of exposure.
Unvaccinated people should test immediately, and again 5-7 days after.
If you go to a high-risk event
Unvaccinated people should test before and 3-5 days after.
For mega-events of more than 1,000 people, all attendees should test within 1 day (antigen test) or 2 days (PCR test) and bring proof of negative results. Children under 2 are exempt from testing.
If you travel
Unvaccinated people should test 1-3 days before travel, and 3-5 days after.
Vaccinated or not, anyone entering or re-entering California should test 3-5 days after arrival.
Yes, it’s rather comical that we are here on the edge of 2022 in the leading country in the world and no one can figure out how to make COVID testing both FREE and EASY. Because, 1,500 kits for the City is a joke. And trying to get tested through one of the County of San Diego FREE sites is a cluster of bureaucracy that we’ve so far been unable to plow through.
If you really need to get a test for your kids (and they attend a Carlsbad Unified School district school) you can schedule a test by clicking here. For everyone else, check in with Walgreen’s. They offer free drive through testing if you make an appointment.
If you have a Carlsbad news story, press release, event, rumor, or scandal that we'd be interested in (and there are a lot of them), please click the link to send them to The Editors.
Or just search the site to see if we've mentioned it before, right here.
Have a problem that needs a solution? First thing you need is money. And thanks to a vote by the Carlsbad City Council last night (August 30, 2022) the City of Carlsbad, through its “state of emergency” proclamation, now has $2 million more to put toward making our streets safer for everyone. . . even entitled, belligerent drivers who believe that anything on the road that is not a speeding car is a nuisance.
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Negotiating Carlsbad’s Oddest Intersection
by The Editors on April 4, 2023
The City of Carlsbad is doing their best in mitigating traffic issues around town. They’ve developed training programs for e-bikes, handed out Safer Together Slow Down Carlsbad signs, and even declared a state of local emergency when it comes to traffic problems. But one effort stands out as their oddest work yet. And that is the intersection of Valley Street and Tamarack Avenue.
Located at the southeast corner of Valley Middle School the intersection is jammed morning and afternoon by kids walking to and from school, parents driving their kids to and from school, and angry commuters just trying to get up or down Tamarack. It obviously needed some kind of traffic solution, but what the City came up with is one of the most confusing, least understood traffic lights in all of Carlsbad. In fact, it is the first such intersection application in the City. It’s called a “pedestrian hybrid signal” a.k.a. Hawk signal.
The lights only function when a pedestrian presses the button to cross the street. The rest of the time the signals simply tower over the intersection like loitering giants with nothing to do. During the morning and afternoon school commute, however, the lights blast out a nearly unintelligible series of red and yellow lights. Sometimes blinking, other times solid. But with nary a green light to be seen.
The City of Carlsbad should have known their solution to the intersection was a failure when they were forced to implement an extensive educational campaign (including light boards on both sides of the intersection) explaining how drivers should use it. Sadly, few paid attention to the educational materials and now that the light boards are gone most drivers continue to be mystified by how to proceed through the intersection once a pedestrian has pressed the crossing button.
So, to help everyone out. Here’s how it works.
It’s that simple. Any questions? Here’s the graphic if you’re a visual learner.
The oddest part about the entire solution is that a simple three-way stop i.e. adding stop signs on both directions of Tamarack Avenue, would have solved most all of the intersection’s problems. City Staff did not think that was a good idea. Sadly, they were wrong.
[Editors Note: Last night (April 3, 2023) the City of Carlsbad Traffic and Mobility Commission met to update everyone on general traffic issues and specifically hear a report from City Staff on how the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Valley Street is working. As is usually the case, City Staff believes that what the City has done is the right thing and their report seemed overly positive. To hear the City report and see the comment from one person Click here.]
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