A bill calling for the approval of two speed cameras on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) advanced through the California Legislature Tuesday.
Senate Bill (SB) 1279, written by State Senator Lena Gonzalez, now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until Sept. 30 to sign the legislation.
Gonzalez represents California’s 33rd Senate District, which includes Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Catalina Island and sections of Southeast Los Angeles.
“Everyone should be able to travel along PCH safely, whether they are driving to work, walking to school, biking to the park, or simply crossing the street in their neighborhood,” said Senator Gonzalez in a public statement. “By adding this corridor to California’s speed safety camera pilot program, SB 1279 will give Long Beach another proven tool to reduce dangerous speeding, make our streets safer, and save lives.”
In an effort to improve traffic safety and diminish speed-related fatalities, Long Beach is one of six cities in California’s five-year speed safety camera pilot program, authorized in 2023 by Assembly Bill 645. San Francisco, the first city to launch the program, announced a 72% reduction in speeding vehicles six months after it began.
Long Beach will have 18 automated cameras watching drivers citywide through its Speed Safety System. The City is currently in the education and outreach phase of the Speed Safety System with warnings due to begin in the fall and citations set to run from this winter until the winter of 2031.
Devices will be placed at three types of locations:
- Streets designated as corridors with high traffic injury rates
- Streets with a documented history of street racing or speed exhibitions, with at least four incidents in the past two years
- School zones with restricted enforcement hours tied to school schedules.
Though the locations include major streets such as Long Beach Boulevard, East Seventh Street and East Ocean Boulevard, there are currently no devices slated for PCH.
Last year, Long Beach had 53 fatal traffic collisions, its highest total in over a decade. Despite only spanning eight miles of the city’s 217 miles of high-capacity roadway, PCH accounts for 39 of Long Beach’s 192 crash fatalities since 2020.
“At least 3 speed-related traffic fatalities have occurred in the first 8 months of this year on the small stretch of PCH that goes through Long Beach,” said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), in a public statement. “We applaud Senator Gonzalez for her work to get SB 1279 to the Governor’s desk. It’s imperative that these speed safety systems be implemented as soon as possible to help prevent further loss of life.”
There has been pushback against surveillance technology, including from the Long Beach Justice Fund Coalition, which advocates for rights and protections for the city’s immigrant community. The coalition is composed of several organizations, such as Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation & Empowerment (ÓRALE), Filipino Migrant Center and Long Beach for a Just Economy.
During the coalition’s Aug. 12 press conference in front of Long Beach City Hall, they recommended six new amendments for the Long Beach Values Act, one of which was banning the local usage of surveillance technology.
According to Senator Gonzalez’s office, the Speed Safety Camera pilot program was created in response to a handful of concerning safety statistics. The cited statistics include 34% of traffic fatalities and serious injuries being related to speed and aggressive driving, and around 4,000 people dying in traffic collisions in California each year. Additionally, in Long Beach, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists account for 65% of all traffic deaths and injuries despite being involved in only 14% of collisions.
“The evidence from other California jurisdictions implementing automated speed enforcement is clear — speed cameras are uniquely effective at deterring dangerous driving,” said Marc T. Vukcevich, Director of State Policy for transportation advocacy nonprofit Streets For All, in a public statement. “SB 1279 is a targeted, sorely-needed intervention to address an issue that has drawn increasing public concern.”
The speed safety camera pilot program includes the following privacy guidelines and violation details:
- Clear signage must indicate the area will be “Photo Enforced,” with flashing beacons.
- Photographic records must be confidential, capture only rear license plates and be used solely for purposes of the pilot.
- A vehicle’s first violation for traveling 11 to 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit shall only be a warning notice.
- For subsequent violations, a penalty of $50 shall be assessed for drivers going 11 to 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, $100 for 16 to 25 miles over, $200 for 26 miles or more over the posted speed limit, or $500 for a speed of 100 miles per hour or more.
- For violation recipients who are unable to pay the fee, the City must offer community service or educational programs in lieu of paying any penalty. If that person chooses not to participate in those programs, the City must offer payment plans of $25 per month or less, and reduce applicable fines by 80%.
Through the Speed Safety System, Long Beach expects to make $5 million annually from citations, which would fund a new traffic safety division under the City’s Transportation Services Bureau.
To learn more about Long Beach’s Speed Safety System, visit here.
