Last Sunday morning, our chapter led a “save the beach” walk along an endangered stretch of Carlsbad’s coast. We assembled at North Ponto State Beach to walk along "dip in the road," a mile-long stretch where southbound Carlsbad Blvd. descends to sea level on either side of coastal bluffs and runs right along the beach.
Unfortunately, the road runs too close to the ocean, blocking any hopes that the beach could naturally migrate landward as sea levels rise. The road already floods intermittently and has been closed to traffic in the past. Additionally, both the Army Corps and the City have placed piles of riprap (boulders) on valuable public beach space to protect the road from being undercut by waves.
To their credit, the City of Carlsbad has been proactively planning how to realign traffic away from this threatened road along the beach. During our walk, we discussed what the City has done so far, along with Surfrider’s goals to ensure this project prioritizes saving the beach in addition to saving a critical coastal road. Thanks to a 6 foot high tide during our walk, community members were able to see for themselves how the ocean is already drowning this interrupted beach while threatening the existing road.
The goal of Sunday's event was to educate the community and build support for a coastal adaptation project that, if carried out successfully, will protect a critical coastal corridor while saving a valuable public beach in an area surrounded by bluff-backed beaches that will not fare well against rising seas in the next 50-75 years.
Check out the tabs below to see some telling images and renderings of the project area. Below the tabs, you will find a detailed list of resources to learn more about this exciting coastal adaptation project.
Want to learn more about this project and the conditions that necessitate action? Peruse the resources below from both the City of Carlsbad and Surfrider. Please email beachpres@sandiego.surfrider.org if you have any questions or would like to learn more.
*Please note that this list is copied from our S Carlsbad Blvd. Coastal Adaptation Project Campaign Page. We will continue to update the Campaign page as new developments occur, so be sure to check back on that page in the future if you want to follow along on this project.
h