Speed Limits Go Down In Long Beach To Promote Safety

LONG BEACH, CA — In an effort to make Long Beach a safer place for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers, residents will start to see speed limits reduced on 92 miles of city streets.

As part of the Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan, 50 segments of streets will receive new speed limits of 20 mph or lower, while other main streets will receive a 5 mph speed limit reduction. In total, the reductions cover 111 street segments including major streets and neighborhood streets.

"The City of Long Beach is leading the way in making our streets safer for all types of commuters," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "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."

The 92 miles of city streets were strategically selected based on the city's high-injury network, a map that outlines intersections and corridors in Long Beach with reported pedestrian, bicyclist and motorist injuries.

Some major streets that will get new speed limits include

• Long Beach Boulevard, Cherry Avenue and Orange Avenue in North Long Beach;
• Easy Avenue, Willow Street and Burnett Avenue in West Long Beach;
• Carson Street, Stearns Avenue and Atherton Street in East Long Beach;
• Multiple streets in Central and Downtown Long Beach such as 10th Street, 7th Street, 3rd Street and Pine Avenue.

“I am proud that Long Beach can set a standard for implementation of AB43 with these speed limit reductions,” said Eric Lopez, Director of Public Works. “We thoughtfully applied the new tools at their disposal to promote a safe systems approach. 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.”

The passage of California State Assembly Bill 43 in 2021 made the reductions possible and extended more authority to local jurisdictions to set their speed limits.

The Long Beach City Council unanimously approved staff recommendations for speed limit reductions in December 2022. These changes make Long Beach one of the first cities in California to enact AB43-related updates.