Carlsbad Declares Emergency Due To Rise In Bike, E-Bike Crashes

CARLSBAD, CA — The city of Carlsbad declared a local state of emergency Tuesday amid a rise in bicycle and e-bike collisions.

Crashes involving bikes and e-bikes have gone up 233 percent since 2019, according to the city.

There have been 57 collisions involving bikes and e-bikes so far this year, close to 2020's total of 62 and not far behind the pace of 2021's 100 collisions, according to the city. There were 30 collisions involving bikes and e-bikes in 2019.

The emergency declaration allowed City Manager Scott Chadwick to redeploy resources from the city's police, fire, transportation and community education departments to develop immediate actions to be presented to the City Council Aug. 30, followed by a comprehensive plan on Sept. 27.

"The exponential increase in ridership, especially among young people, has significantly changed how people are using Carlsbad's roads," Chadwick said in a statement. "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."

According to the city, an emergency declaration allows Carlsbad to reallocate resources, expedite certain actions and temporarily bypass lengthy processes to address an existing or imminent threat. The declaration covers the safety of bicycles, e-bikes and other motorized devices, which could include electric scooters and motorized skateboards.

"This is an issue that affects every single member of our community, and it will take all of us working together to make our streets safer," Chadwick said.

The city first started to see an increase in bikes and e-bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2020, the council approved a plan to add and expand sidewalks and bike lanes, while taking steps to slow down cars on streets throughout Carlsbad. In June, the council directed staff to expedite streets projects in the current fiscal year's budget. However, with hundreds of miles of city roads, the plan will still take many years to complete, according to the city.

In April, the council approved Carlsbad-specific rules for e-bike riders, which provide police officers with more enforcement options, including a diversion program that gives minors the option to complete an e-bike safety course after their first offense.

The emergency declaration will be in place until the Aug. 30 council meeting, when the council will consider whether to ratify it. If ratified, the council will need to review the declaration every 60 days until it ends the local state of emergency.