The city of Carlsbad is among the winners of this year’s Momentum Awards, held Thursday, Sept. 21, by Circulate San Diego to recognize individuals’ and agencies’ efforts to enhance public transit, improve street safety and support sustainable growth in the region.
Carlsbad was one of two winners of the Safe Streets and Vision Zero Award. The city received the award in recognition of its Safer Streets Together initiative, which aims to improve road safety using a community-driven model.
City officials declared a state of emergency in 2022 and allocated $2 million for a comprehensive plan that focuses on education, engineering and enforcement. The effort came about after two pedestrian deaths occurred in a 10-day span last year. Cities such as Encinitas have followed suit in pursuing similar programs.
“Carlsbad’s approach is distinguished by its data-driven strategy, identifying collision hotspots and initiating projects to improve bike lanes, intersections, and lane restriping,” Circulate San Diego stated in a news release announcing the awards, which were handed out during an event held at the San Diego Natural History Museum. “Through a partnership with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and Circulate San Diego, a robust community engagement campaign was developed, with thousands taking the Safer Streets Together pledge. Within six months, the initiative achieved a remarkable 19% reduction in injury collisions across all modes.”
In addition to Carlsbad, Poway Councilman Brian Pepin received the Safe Streets and Vision Zero Award for his advocacy of walkability and bikeability in Poway since his election to its City Council in 2022.
Several other agencies and individuals from throughout San Diego County also received various other awards.
“Circulate San Diego was proud to recognize so many great projects and individuals in San Diego,” Circulate San Diego CEO and General Counsel Colin Parent said in the news release. “We are grateful that so many people came out to celebrate our region’s progress.”
Parent is a member of the La Mesa City Council and is currently running for California’s 79th District Assembly seat.
High-profile honorees included California Attorney General Rob Bonta, state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and environmental justice advocate Diane Takvorian.