The City Council next week will discuss how to improve safety on Long Beach’s streets – from improving response times to traffic safety and calming requests, to enforcing its ordinance that bans street races and sideshows.
Councilmembers will look at ways to improve how the Public Works Department tackles traffic safety improvements during their Tuesday, March 3, meeting. The department and the traffic engineering team have consistently faced delays when responding to traffic safety and calming requests from residents and council offices, according to the staff report.
While staff have logged and reviewed these requests, the number of fully implemented improvements remains limited, and the time between request submission and completion often exceeds community expectations, particularly for safety-related concerns, city officials said.
Out of 220 traffic calming requests received since 2023, 180 locations were evaluated, but only 17 locations were ultimately prioritized for traffic calming improvements, according to a city memo released on Dec. 30.
Although evaluations are occurring, relatively few requests result in near-term safety interventions, officials said. This has contributed to growing frustration among residents and has led to an increasing number of constituents reaching out directly to council offices to follow up on long-pending traffic safety requests.
In 2025, Long Beach recorded 53 fatal traffic collisions, one of the highest totals in more than a decade, according to the staff report, with pedestrians representing a disproportionate share of fatalities.
“Public Works must improve its ability to deliver timely safety improvements for pedestrian safety and traffic conditions. Delays in traffic engineering responses prolong risk for pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable roadway users, and undermine efforts to encourage walking, biking and micromobility,” the staff report says. “Without more timely and consistent implementation of traffic safety interventions, the city will not be able to meet its Vision Zero goals.”
Part of the city’s Safe Streets Long Beach initiative, Vision Zero is a road safety philosophy that states that no loss of life from traffic collisions is acceptable, according to the city’s website. Long Beach’s goals included reducing traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries to zero by 2026.
The item on Tuesday’s agenda requests the city manager to pursue outside contractors to help complete traffic evaluations; set clear deadlines for traffic studies; bring minor traffic safety – such as painting, maintaining and enhancing cross walks – and quick-build improvements to City Council on a quarterly basis; and require consistent reporting to track progress. That would improve accountability and ensure traffic safety improvements are delivered in a timely and consistent manner, officials said.
The item was brought forth by Second District Councilmember Cindy Allen, with support from Councilmembers Mary Zendejas of District 1 and Megan Kerr of District 5.
“I strongly support our Public Works Department, and their work is vital to the success of our city,” Allen said in a social media post. “It’s my hope that these changes will provide some groundwork to strengthen the department to better serve our residents and make our streets safer.”
The City Council will also vote on an amendment to the ordinance relating to prohibiting spectators at street races, sideshows and reckless driving exhibitions.
In November, councilmembers asked the city attorney’s office to work on amending the ordinance to prohibit the willful promotion or organization of street races on social media or any other form of promotional material. The amendment will be read for the first time and laid over to the next City Council meeting for a final reading.