CARLSBAD -- Carlsbad drivers stuck in an endless series of red lights along Palomar Airport Road or El Camino Real may soon see a little hope on the horizon.
The City Council decided last week to make traffic congestion improvements a top goal in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.
During a city goal-setting session Tuesday, Councilman Keith Blackburn said he wanted to make traffic improvements a priority because he heard more complaints about traffic troubles than any other issue during last fall's election season.
Blackburn won his first term in office in fall 2008.
Longtime incumbent Councilwoman Ann Kulchin, who was re-elected last fall, agreed Tuesday that traffic complaints are common in Carlsbad. She said she frequently hears from people who say that they get stuck at red lights on city sidestreets, even when there are no cars traveling along the main thoroughfare.
South Carlsbad's Levante Street is a particular problem, Kulchin said.
"We hear those comments a lot and I've experienced it myself," said Glenn Pruim, the city's public works director.
City traffic engineers are working on a citywide traffic management strategic plan that should be ready for the council's review in June, he added.
One proposal within that plan is to link the city's traffic signals to a central command center. Someone in that center could monitor conditions at various intersections via cameras and reprogram the lights as needed, Pruim said.
Blackburn, a former city police officer, said he has heard such systems can "do amazing things" to improve traffic conditions. The cameras can also record traffic incidents and other problems that might be helpful for city police, he said.
They aren't likely to be used as enforcement measure against people who run red traffic lights -- Carlsbad has decided not to pursue red-light enforcement systems in the past on the advice of the city's police chief. Police Chief Tom Zoll has said he doesn't believe the cameras reduce the number traffic accidents at a given intersection. In fact, he has said, they can increase the number of rear-end collisions because people stop suddenly when they see a traffic light turning red at a camera-enforced intersection.
Blackburn said Tuesday that he would be willing to support a city bond measure to fund a central traffic control system. City Manager Lisa Hildabrand said that wouldn't be necessary, commenting that the city is already setting aside money for such a system. The cost is roughly estimated to be $5 million, Blackburn said.
The city's busier intersections now have timed signals that allow vehicles to flow from one stoplight through the next in a coordinated fashion that aims to reduce red-light waits. Examples include the lights along El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road, Pruim said.
