It is estimated that Carlsbad maintains 28,000 palms and Oceanside maintains 48,000 palms. If a lowball maintenance cost of $200 per tree is applied to each tree being pruned, both municipalities pay a pretty price for these objects of decoration. It breaks down to $5.6 million for Carlsbad and $9.6 million for Oceanside.
I have little or no love of these plants and consider them superfluous, especially if they impinge on Coast Highway lane width. Eliminate the parkway trees and 4 feet of profile width can be gained in each direction of traffic.
With much of Oceanside’s Coast Highway lane width being dangerously substandard, if Oceanside prioritized safety, it would prohibit bicycles on most of the Coast Highway corridor and also on Pacific Street. Finally, Oceanside should complete its portion of a “safer” rail trail ASAP. In the meantime, I suggest that Oceanside designate certain residential backstreets with street marking as safer riding alternatives to main corridors.
— Gerald Lance Johannsen, Carlsbad