by The Editors on July 16, 2008
by The Editors on April 29, 2008
We broke this story in November, but now it looks like the $8 Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee is getting closer.
According to a release from the City of Carlsbad the parking fee will be discussed during the California Coastal Commission’s monthly meeting, slated for Thursday, May 8, 2008, at the Marina Del Rey Hotel, Marina Del Rey California.
Carlsbad officials oppose the proposal and have expressed concern over the insufficient noticing given to the public about the installation device as well as the adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods and impact on public beach access if the proposal is approved. . . . Residents and those affected by the proposed parking fee are encouraged to fax or e-mail their concerns to Coastal Commission analyst Toni Ross at tross@coastal.ca.gov or fax at 619-7672384.
Not that it’s going to do any good, but we might as well complain while we have a chance.
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by The Editors on November 30, 2017
The City of Carlsbad is proposing some pretty nice upgrades to the area around the intersection of Tamarack and Carlsbad Boulevard right about Tamarack Surfing beach. Anyone who has tried to push a stroller or pull a wagon down the sidewalk above the Tamarack parking lot knows that the sidewalk there is way, way too narrow, not to mention that it is nearly impossible to cross Tamarack while walking on the west side of Carlsbad Boulevard. Thankfully, it seems all these problems will be corrected with the new plan. Here are some of the fixes:
- Widening sidewalks and improving bike lanes throughout the area.
- Adding new parking spaces on Tamarack Avenue and Carlsbad Boulevard.
- Getting rid of the asphalt island on the west side of Carlsbad Boulevard and south of Tamarack Avenue.
- Relocating the bus stops to more accessible locations.
- Creating more functional space on the ocean side of Carlsbad Boulevard, just to the south of Tamarack, including an overlook with space to sit and enjoy.
- A new crosswalk across Carlsbad Boulevard south of Sequoia Avenue to the lagoon trailhead.
- Signs directing people to the Coastal Rail Trail along the railroad tracks between Tamarack and Oak Avenue.
Construction could start in the fall of 2018 and we’re looking forward to it. This will solve so many traffic problems for so many people. And if Carlsbad Boulevard gets cut down to one lane in each direction from The Village to Cannon we’d be even happier. For the official word from the City (including community meeting schedules), please follow the jump.
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by Bridget Smith on November 1, 2010
As you head to your polling place tomorrow be aware that one particular ballot measure would directly benefit Carlsbadistan residents. Proposition 21 would raise money for California’s state parks and beaches by adding an $18 license registration fee to all vehicles registered in the state of California. In exchange drivers of these vehicles would get free state park day use.
This means that only the tourists would have to pay to park at Tamarack , and residents could go back to their morning surf or beachside stroll without the parking hassle. Hopefully it would also mean cleaner bathrooms, more lifeguards, and better maintained state parks.
Let’s face it, we’re a beach town in a state that relies heavily on tourist revenues to stay fiscally afloat. It is in our best interest to keep our beaches clean, safe, and well maintained. With trying economic times more families are hitting to road to go camping at a state park or spend the day at a local beach. California small businesses that depend on revenue from these visitors would benefit from a more stable funding source for California’s State Parks.
I’m hoping Prop 21 passes, because it’s much easier to schlep three kids, beach chairs, boogie boards, and sand toys from a parking space next to the beach.
Carlsbadistan resident Bridget Smith is the author of The Unauthorized Legoland Guidebook.
by The Editors on September 16, 2010
A 37-year-old man who Carlsbad Police say “failed a field sobriety test” crashed his car into the jetty at end of the Tamarack Beach Parking lot on Wednesday night September 15, 2010, according to story on SignOnSanDiego.
The officers were on a call at 11:37 p.m. when a Ford Explorer came speeding into the parking lot at the end of Tamarack Avenue, said Carlsbad police Lt. Matt Magro. . . The SUV sped past them and headed toward the jetty at the south end of the lot without slowing, Magro said. It then hit the embankment and went up and over the rocks stopping just feet from the water.
Kind of hard to believe we missed getting a photo of this unnamed off-roader.
[Link: Sign On San Diego]
by The Editors on February 22, 2010
Today marks the beginning of week two of the California State Park systems charging for parking in the Tamarack Surf Beach parking lot. With “iron rangers” stationed at both the North and South ends of the parking lot more and more people are figuring out that free parking at Tamarack is definitely over.
“The parking lot was looking comparatively empty on Saturday afternoon,” said one Carlsbadistan reader. “Made me wonder if everyone is using the free neighborhood parking or if it was just the weather?”
When people realize they have to pay to park most will probably end up crowding out the already packed streets near the beach. “A friend of mine comes down everyday to take a short walk on the beach,” one man said. “But now I think she’ll either park up on the free streets or stop coming all together.”
According to the City of Carlsbadistan the State will be giving beach visitors a one-month warning period after which they will begin issuing parking tickets to those who do not properly display their paid parking stub in their window.
State Park Peace Officers and other state staff will distribute warnings and courtesy notices to visitors during the first month of the program. At the end of that period, vehicles not properly displaying a current pass or receipt will be issued a citation and fined up to $64.
The fees to park in the lot are currently $2 a hour or $10 a day, but don’t worry about paying until at least March 14, 2010.
Tell us how these fees will affect you by voting in our Carlsbadistan Poll in the right hand column just below the weather.
by The Editors on September 14, 2009
One of the last great free parking lots on a California beach will soon be gone as the City of Carlsbad, the California Coastal Commission, and California State Parks have settled a lawsuit regarding the installation of a pay parking kiosk at Tamarack surfing beach (click here for previous coverage).
Under the settlement agreement, State Parks will charge hourly parking, with a two hour minimum and a maximum daily charge of $10, the same day rate fee charged at South Carlsbad State Beach’s Ponto beach. The hourly fee has not yet been set but is agreed to be $2 an hour or less. State Parks originally proposed only a day use fee. Under the settlement agreement, the requirements of the coastal development permit for the project that the California Coastal Commission approved will remain in full effect.
The thing that sucks most about this agreement is that it’s going to push even more people up into the neighborhood surrounding Tamarack and there are way too many people parking there already. The only good news is that people with California State Park parking passes will always have a spot at Tamarack because once they start charging for parking the lot will be mostly empty most of the time.
Follow the jump for the official press release from the City of Carlsbad.
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by The Editors on June 26, 2008
According to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune the City of Carlsbad is still kicking when it comes to the California Department of Parks and Recreations plans to charge beach visitors $8 a day for parking in the lot at Tamarack.
Mayor Bud Lewis announced Tuesday that the City Council voted 4-1 in closed session, with Councilwoman Julie Nygaard dissenting, to possibly sue the state Coastal Commission for allowing the parks department to install a fee machine.
We didn’t think the City Council had it in them, but we appreciate their seemingly better-late-than-never attention to the issue.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on June 21, 2008
Work has finally begun on the parking pay station at the Tamarack Surf Beach parking lot that we first reported on November 17, 2007 when the California State Parks and Rec department first filed to build “an automated fee collection device in the Tamarack day use lot.”
Though we had hoped that the City of Carlsbad would work something out with the State of California it looks like that plan failed. Paying $8 for beach parking in Carlsbad won’t be long now.
Read what Carlsbad resident Richard Riehl thinks about this in his “freelance” North County Times column.
by The Editors on May 9, 2008
Don’t get too up in arms yet. While the state of California has approved turning the Tamarack Surf Beach Parking lot into a “fee lot” which could cost $8 a day, they are not putting the metering in until they meet with the City of Carlsbad, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
. . . state officials will meet with the city of Carlsbad to see if the city will pay to keep the lot free, said Brian Ketterer, superintendent of the state’s parklands in northern coastal San Diego County.
If the city puts up the money that the parking charge would have generated, then the state won’t install the fee device in the 120-space lot at the western end of Tamarack Avenue, he said.
The problem is that that state wants in excess of $200,000 from the city. Mayor Bud Lewis is reportedly “not optimistic.” Unless, of course, we all mention how important it is to all of us who use it.
[Link: North County Times]
According to a story that appeared in the the San Diego Union-Tribune four days ago (we apologize for the lag, we don’t know how we missed it), the City of Carlsbad has “sued the California Coastal Commission and the State Park Department to prevent a proposed parking fee” at Tamarack Surf Beach.”
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Vote Yes On Prop 21, Park Free At Tamarack
by Bridget Smith on November 1, 2010
This means that only the tourists would have to pay to park at Tamarack , and residents could go back to their morning surf or beachside stroll without the parking hassle. Hopefully it would also mean cleaner bathrooms, more lifeguards, and better maintained state parks.
Let’s face it, we’re a beach town in a state that relies heavily on tourist revenues to stay fiscally afloat. It is in our best interest to keep our beaches clean, safe, and well maintained. With trying economic times more families are hitting to road to go camping at a state park or spend the day at a local beach. California small businesses that depend on revenue from these visitors would benefit from a more stable funding source for California’s State Parks.
I’m hoping Prop 21 passes, because it’s much easier to schlep three kids, beach chairs, boogie boards, and sand toys from a parking space next to the beach.
Carlsbadistan resident Bridget Smith is the author of The Unauthorized Legoland Guidebook.
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