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Council backs citywide traffic‑calming push: lower speed limits near parks and purchase of rapid‑flashing beacons
Summary
The council approved measures to expand neighborhood traffic calming, direct staff to update speed limits (including 25 mph near playgrounds), and authorized procurement contracts for rapid‑flashing beacons and as‑needed traffic devices to accelerate quick‑build safety improvements across priority corridors.
The Long Beach City Council voted to advance a neighborhood traffic calming program that includes targeted speed‑limit reductions, quick‑build street‑design changes and procurement of rapid‑flashing beacons (RFBs) to improve pedestrian safety.
Public Works staff presented an evaluation of roughly 180 requested locations citywide and identified 17 priority street segments based on speeding, crash history and traffic volume. Staff recommended a toolbox of countermeasures—painted bulbouts, red curbs, flexible delineators, traffic circles, refuge medians, directed enforcement and RFBs—to address local conditions on a short timetable and with removable 'quick‑build' elements.
The council authorized procurement for rectangular rapid‑flashing beacons (staff noted RFBs are long lead items and recommended ordering soon) and approved an as‑needed contract with a vendor for traffic devices and services (transcript records an aggregate authorization up to $5,000,000 for program support). The presentation included maps showing 25 planned RFB locations and 14 new crosswalks initially identified for installation.
'We want to be proactive, not just reactive,' Public Works Director Josh Hickman said, describing an online portal that will let residents submit requests and track quarterly status updates.
Councilmembers asked for clarity about resident notifications and the data lifecycle; staff said traffic counts used in evaluations are typically considered valid for about five years and that the city will bundle requests for efficient field work and publish quarterly updates. Staff also emphasized the importance of tailoring solutions (not always speed humps) to the local context and said some measures—traffic circles and diverters—can better address certain speeding or street takeover problems.
Public comment included both praise for RFBs in areas where they have been piloted and questions about contracting choices and the scale of procurement. The council carried the motions to proceed.
What comes next: Staff will place RFB orders, schedule installations, monitor effectiveness over the summer, and return in the fall with revised recommendations and evaluation findings.
