Long Beach Reduces Speed Limits on 92 Miles of City Streets
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Long Beach, CA ~ The City of Long Beach recently took a major step towards improving roadway safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers with the launch of a phased implementation of reducing speed limits on 92 miles of city streets. Of these streets, 50 segments will receive new speed limits of 20-mph or lower; the remaining streets, including 7th Street and other major corridors, will receive a 5-mph speed limit reduction.

Mayor Rex Richardson expressed his enthusiasm for the changes, saying "The City of Long Beach is leading the way in making our streets safer for all types of commuters. Not only will these changes encourage more walking and bicycling, reduce noise, and enrich our neighborhoods and business districts— but these speed limit reductions can help save lives."

In total, the speed limit reductions cover 111 street segments, including portions of major arterial corridors like 7th Street and Long Beach Boulevard as well as smaller residential neighborhood streets. The 92 miles of city streets were selected based on the City's High-Injury Network, a map outlining the intersections and corridors in the city with reported pedestrian, bicyclist and motorists' injuries.

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The changes became possible with the passage of California State Assembly Bill 43 in 2021 which extended more authority to local jurisdictions to set their speed limits and permitted cities to set speed limits below 25 mph. Statutory changes modified the application of an engineering principle used to set speed limits known as the "85th percentile rule" which historically resulted in an upward trend in speed limits even on roads with no engineering improvements. The law also created provisions allowing cities to reduce speed limits in "business activity districts" which Long Beach applied to nine street segments totaling 3.5 miles, and along "safety corridors" with high pedestrian and bicyclist presence which goes into effect in 2024.

The Long Beach City Council approved staff recommendations for speed limit reductions in December 2022 with a 6 to 0 vote. With these changes, Long Beach becomes one of the first cities in California to enact AB43-related updates on its roadway network. Eric Lopez, Director of Public Works said "I am proud that Long Beach can set a standard for implementation of AB43 with these speed limit reductions...This work is just the beginning; we will continue to use new sections of the law designed to promote pedestrian and bicyclist safety as they go into effect."

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City staff will continue to use new speed survey evaluation techniques in ongoing speed limit updates so residents can expect future rounds of reductions as well. A full list of effected areas and map can be found at longbeach.gov/speedlimits

The City's Vision Zero goals are being met through this action which is expected to improve safety for all types commuters while also encouraging more walking and bicycling throughout Long Beach neighborhoods and business districts while reducing noise levels at the same time.

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