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Speed Limit Reduction / Fatal and Severe Injury Collision Streets / AB 43 (Friedman) / Vulnerable Road Users / Vision Zero Goals

Council File 21-1223

Introduced
2021-10-20
Last changed
2026-05-12
Status
closed
Expires
2024-02-18
Mover
MIKE BONIN
Second
PAUL KREKORIAN
References
Related Council File: 21-0002-S134City Attorney Report: R22-0035

Brief

Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz introduced a motion to reduce speed limits on designated high-risk streets in furtherance of the city's Vision Zero goals and compliance with California Assembly Bill 43. The Department of Transportation identified street segments with fatal and severe injury collisions as candidates for speed reduction. The Transportation Committee approved the motion as amended in November 2021, and City Council adopted the ordinance 14-0-1 on February 22, 2022, with an effective date of April 10, 2022. The file is now closed.

Full summary

In October 2021, Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz moved to direct the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to identify streets eligible for speed limit reductions, with priority given to segments with a history of fatal and severe injury collisions. The motion was prompted by the signing of AB 43, authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, which gave cities new authority to set speed limits based on the safety of vulnerable road users and Vision Zero goals rather than relying solely on the longstanding state-mandated "85th percentile" methodology. That methodology required cities to set speed limits at or below the speed driven by 85 percent of motorists, meaning that if as few as one in six drivers regularly sped on a street, the city could be forced to raise the posted limit to keep it enforceable. In the most recent speed limit renewal cycle before this motion, Los Angeles had been compelled to raise limits on nearly 200 miles of streets, in many cases on corridors with the highest rates of fatal or severe injury crashes. AB 43, which took effect January 1, 2022, allowed cities to roll back speed limit increases that were not tied to any physical changes in street design. LADOT reviewed all 197 miles of streets where limits had been raised since 2019 and screened them against the new criteria. Of that total, 10.3 miles were ineligible because their prior speed limit had not been set through a formal engineering and traffic survey, and another 9.9 miles were ineligible because general-purpose lanes had been added to the roadway since the prior survey. The remaining 177.2 miles across 77 street segments — roughly 90 percent of the streets where limits had been raised — qualified for reduction. A registered engineer certified that the existing speed limits on those segments were no longer reasonable or safe, supporting their immediate rollback. The City Attorney drafted an ordinance amending Section 80.81 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to codify the reductions. The Transportation Committee approved the ordinance on February 15, 2022, and the full Council adopted it 14-0-1 on February 22, 2022. The estimated cost of replacing speed limit signs on the affected segments was $52,282, funded through LADOT's existing General Fund paint and sign maintenance account. The ordinance took effect April 10, 2022. Multiple neighborhood councils — including South Robertson, Mid City West, and Sunland-Tujunga — filed community impact statements in support during the process, and North Westwood and Mar Vista submitted statements after adoption. The file was formally closed in May 2026.

Activity (24)

  • 2026-05-12 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Westwood Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-11-11 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Westwood Neighborhood Council.
  • 2023-01-24 Community Impact Statement submitted by Mar Vista Community Council.
  • 2022-03-23 Community Impact Statement submitted by NoHo Neighborhood Council.
  • 2022-03-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by South Robertson Neighborhood Council.
  • 2022-03-08 Ordinance posted/published. Ordinance effective date: April 10, 2022.
  • 2022-03-07 Council action final.
  • 2022-02-22 Council adopted item forthwith.
  • 2022-02-22 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is March 7, 2022.
  • 2022-02-18 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on February 22, 2022.
  • 2022-02-15 Transportation Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2022-02-11 Transportation Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on February 15, 2022.
  • 2022-02-11 City Attorney document(s) referred to Transportation Committee.
  • 2022-02-11 Document(s) submitted by City Attorney, as follows:City Attorney report R22-0035, dated February 10, 2022, relative to a draft Ordinance amending a section the Los Angeles Municipal Code to effect speed limit reductions on certain city street segments.
  • 2022-02-10 Department of Transportation document(s) referred to Transportation Committee.
  • 2022-02-10 Document(s) submitted by Department of Transportation, as follows:Department of Transportation report dated February 10, 2022 relative to the speed limit adjustments under Assembly Bill 43.
  • 2022-01-01 Community Impact Statement submitted by Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-12-28 Community Impact Statement submitted by South Robertson Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-12-14 Community Impact Statement submitted by Mid City WEST Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-11-09 Council action final.
  • 2021-11-09 Council adopted item forthwith.
  • 2021-11-05 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on November 9, 2021.
  • 2021-11-02 Transportation Committee approved as amended .
  • 2021-10-20 Motion referred to Transportation Committee.

Documents (31)

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