Laguna Niguel council approves signs, striping and 10 stop signs after neighborhood vote falls short for speed humps

Laguna Niguel City Council on Tuesday approved staff-recommended signing, striping, landscape trimming, focused enforcement and 10 one-way stop signs for the Nagel Hills neighborhood after a mailed ballot to install 14 speed humps failed to reach the city—s required supermajority.

The measures were adopted unanimously, 5-0, after a months-long traffic study by RK Engineering and public outreach showed widespread speeding on several streets but not the voter support needed to add speed humps.

City staff presented the Nagel Hills neighborhood traffic study, which analyzed more than 20 roadway segments and five years of collision data. Brian Estrada of RK Engineering Group said the study combined resident feedback, speed surveys, cut-through counts and collision reports and described the project as "one of the most comprehensive studies that we have ever done." Public Works Director Scott said the study confirmed residents— concerns about excessive speeds on La Plata Drive and other locations.

The study noted 11 reported collisions in or adjacent to the neighborhood over five years and used 80th-percentile speeds to identify problem locations. About 33% of resident comments submitted to the project related to speeding, and staff reported that targeted enforcement had produced as many as 19 citations in a single enforcement period.

Staff had recommended installing 14 speed humps as part of a comprehensive package, but Laguna Niguel—s residential traffic management policy requires two thresholds: at least 50% of mailed ballots must be returned and 67% of valid ballots must support installation. The city mailed 495 ballots; 301 were returned, exceeding the 50% return threshold. Of those, 255 were valid; 151 were marked "yes" (about 59%), short of the 171 "yes" votes (67%) needed to approve speed humps.

Because the speed-hump vote failed, staff instead recommended and the council approved the alternative measures as a single package. Key elements approved Tuesday include new signing and striping at several intersections (including a high-visibility continental crosswalk and shifted stop bar at La Plata Drive and Vista Plaza Drive), centerline and edge-line striping on streets too steep for humps (such as Via Portola and Vista Plaza Drive), trimming of private landscaping that restricts sight lines, a new center two-way left-turn lane on La Plata Drive approaching Crown Valley Parkway, and the installation of 10 one-way stop signs at intersections where sight distance is limited. Staff said design work for the striping was complete and installations were scheduled for this summer.

The study team noted engineering constraints: streets with grades over 6% are not candidates for speed humps, and none of the neighborhood intersections met the traffic warrants for multiway stop control under the engineering criteria considered. Director Scott said unreported crashes are not included in the formal collision dataset but that staff still consider resident reports when evaluating long-term needs.

Resident Drew Hall, who spoke during public comment, urged the council to proceed with the staff package and to re-evaluate results after implementation. "Study proves there's a speeding issue," Hall said. Several council members thanked staff and the consultant for an extensive outreach process and said they intended to monitor the results and consider possible policy updates to the city—s ballot procedures in the future.

The motion to approve the staff recommendation was made by Mayor Pro Tem Johns, seconded by Council Member Winstead and adopted 5-0. The council also noted the Traffic and Transportation Commission had unanimously approved the study recommendations in its April 23, 2025 meeting.

City staff said they will coordinate trimming with homeowners, continue focused enforcement with the Orange County Sheriff's Department as resources permit, and return to the council if future conditions warrant further measures, including reconsideration of speed humps if community support changes.