Residents in Long Beach have less than a year to practice slower driving before speed limits for over 100 streets will be reduced.
City council unanimously voted to lower speed limits throughout the city as part of its Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan, which was adopted in July 2020. One of the goals of the plan was to reduce fatal car crashes to zero by 2026.
The plan will reduce 18 streets to 30 mph, 36 streets to 25 mph and 50 streets to below 25 mph.
A 2013 study on accident analysis and prevention stated that when a pedestrian is hit by a car traveling at 20 mph, they face a 13% chance of death. That number rises to a 40% likelihood of death when the driver is going 30 mph and a 73% chance of dying when the driver is going 40 mph.
Assembly Bill 43, which went into effect in January 2022, gives cities more discretion when setting speed limits. Previously, the City was required to record the speeds of passing cars and base the set speed limit on that data, with exceptions to school zones.
“All of our speed limits, for the most part, are based on prevailing speed,” said Paul Van Dyke, a traffic engineer for Long Beach Public Works.
Van Dyke said that under AB 43, Long Beach can make those same exceptions for business districts and neighborhood streets. Those speeds are not subject to radar results and do not have to be restudied unless the road is widened to add lanes, according to the City’s staff report.
Long Beach conducted speed surveys on 23 street segments, which allowed for limits set at 15-20 mph.
The staff report also states that the City plans to evaluate certain corridors that are deemed “high-injury,” including the Anaheim corridor, Market Street, Los Coyotes Diagonal, Pacific Avenue, Artesia Boulevard and more.
A study conducted by the City as part of the Safe Streets Plan found that pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 14% of collisions in Long Beach, but 65% of traffic deaths and serious injuries.
The item also includes a measure to increase speed limits on the International Gateway Bridge, which was designed for higher speeds and more lanes than the previous Gerald Desmond Bridge.
Long Beach will begin public outreach and education on the speed limit reductions in early 2023, with plans to implement the new speeds with updated signs by spring 2023. The estimated cost to replace signage is $75,000, according to staff reports.
