The Brief

Camera systems shown to reduce speeding might not be operational in Los Angeles until the end of 2026, a transportation engineer told officials Wednesday, putting the city behind some of its peers throughout the state that are also piloting the technology.

Elected officials expressed frustration with the delay at an L.A. City Council transportation committee meeting.

“It has been about two years since we approved this, and we’re still talking about [requests for proposals],” L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park said. “I find that a little frustrating.”

In October 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation authorizing L.A. and five other California cities to pilot camera systems that cite speeding drivers on dangerous roads.

A representative for Streets Are For Everyone, a nonprofit also known as SAFE that sponsored the bill Newsom signed two years ago, said L.A. is falling behind on implementing its program.

“Our findings show that Los Angeles has currently only completed 25% of the required steps,” Brett Slaughenhaupt, SAFE’s director of L.A. County advocacy, said at the meeting.

What will the cameras do?

The cameras will capture the license plates of cars exceeding posted speed limits on certain corridors. That information will be used to mail tickets to the owner of the vehicle.

The number of cameras each city installs is based on population. L.A. is tasked with installing 125 cameras, the most of any of the participating cities.

The locations for the cameras will be selected based on where there are a lot of drivers that speed and where past attempts to make driving safer hasn’t resulted in “significant speeding reductions,” according to the report the Department of Transportation presented to city officials Wednesday.

School zones and street racing corridors will be prioritized, according to the report.

The owners of speeding vehicles will receive warnings for the first two months the cameras are active. Eventually, they'll be fined based on how much the car was observed exceeding the speed limit.

The purpose of the cameras is to help cities reduce speeding, which is the cause of nearly one-third of traffic fatalities, according to the Department of Transportation.

In L.A., 304 people in the city died in traffic fatalities last year, according to police data. An audit released in April found that lack of cohesion across departments and insufficient political support hampered the city’s goal of reducing traffic deaths to zero by this year.

What progress has L.A. made?

Chris Rider, a transportation engineer managing L.A.’s speed safety camera program, said that over the last two years, officials have been monitoring the progress of other pilot cities and honing in on the criteria that will be used to select locations for the cameras.

According to the report, the Department of Transportation hired a consultant in August to define policies around data retention, propose locations for the cameras and facilitate community engagement and public awareness about the program in the coming months.

The most updated timeline has L.A. activating its cameras, at the latest, by the end of 2026.

Achieving that timeline hinges on whether L.A. can “piggyback” or adopt the contract another pilot city has already signed with a camera system operator, Rider said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Rider indicated that L.A. is looking to replicate Oakland’s proposed contract with Verra Mobility. A spokesperson for the city of Oakland told LAist that they're “hoping to get the contract signed ASAP, but don’t have a firm date.”

The pilot programs are authorized to run for five years or up until Jan. 1, 2032.

Where are the other cities in the process

San Francisco’s cameras have been operational since August.

Data on the number of tickets the city’s 33 cameras helped issue won’t be available until the end of September, according to a spokesperson for the city’s transportation agency.

Other cities are not far behind.

The spokesperson for Oakland said its 18 cameras are expected to be installed by the end of the year.

San Jose has identified potential camera locations, but its program has hit a snag. The city was going to use an $8.5 million grant from the Biden administration to fund its program. But the Trump administration updated the terms and conditions of that grant, as well as others focused on health and housing.

While a U.S. District Court judge in August granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration’s actions, the money isn’t yet available.

“While our City Attorney's Office works on that issue, the speed camera program remains in a holding pattern,” said Colin Heyne, a public information officer for the city’s department of transportation. “We will work swiftly to award a contract, install the cameras, and start the program as soon as we have funding.”

Malibu Mayor Marianne Riggins said the five cameras the city is installing along Pacific Coast Highway will make pedestrians, cyclists and commuters safer.

“The City’s new speed safety citation camera system is one of the most important tools we have to slow drivers down and save lives on Pacific Coast Highway,” Riggins said to LAist in a statement.

Malibu officials said in an August meeting that it's targeting the end of the year for the installation of five cameras along Pacific Coast Highway.

Locations for Long Beach’s cameras have been identified and will be made public in October, according to a community information officer.

LAist reached out to the city of Glendale for a status update on its program.

Republican Sonja Shaw conceded the race for California Superintendent of Public Instruction to Democrat Richard Barrera late Wednesday evening.

“Last night voters made their choice. I would be lying if I said my heart wasn’t heavy,” Shaw said in a statement shared on social media. “As a mother and a protector of children, I feel deeply saddened for the kids. They are the ones who deserve so much better.”

In her social media post, which included a photo of Shaw locking hands with her husband and two daughters, Shaw said her kids had motivated her to run for state superintendent. Shaw won election to the Chino Valley Unified school board in 2022, fueled by support from conservative parents.

“The problem is that for decades, the same people have had their hands on our education system while our children have continued to fall behind,” Shaw said. “I believe we had an opportunity to change that.”

The office of California superintendent of public instruction is nonpartisan, with no party affiliation listed on the ballot. In past races, it was not unusual for two Democrats to advance to the November election. But this year, endorsements, campaign funding and campaigning broke largely along partisan lines.

Shaw, a Republican and board president of Chino Valley Unified, emerged as the top vote getter in a crowded June primary that featured several Democratic state lawmakers. But she contended in her statement that her race didn’t have the “money or machinery” that her opponent did in the November election.

Shaw trailed Barrera by nearly 15 percentage points, according to the latest election results Thursday morning. Shaw’s campaign raised about $595,000 compared to Barrera’s $812,000. However, the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union and a heavy spender in state superintendent races, also spent $8.4 million to support Barrera, the board president of San Diego Unified.

That pales in comparison to the combined $50 million raised in the 2018 state superintendent race Tony Thurmond won against Marshall Tuck in 2018. The 2026 state superintendent race had the distinction of featuring two local school board members.

Shaw said she’s not sure what her next steps will be.

“I don’t know exactly what God has next, but I know He isn’t finished,” she said.

Shaw will not be returning to the Chino Valley Unified school board where she began her political career. Her husband, Chris Shaw, ran for her open seat and is trailing his challenger by 11 points, according to the San Bernardino County Register of Voters.

This story was originally published by EdSource.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills is set to officially open next month, but that hasn’t stopped some wildlife from already using it.

Cameras captured coyote footage twice — once last week and again on Thursday morning — making the mammal the first large animal species seen using the crossing.

“This is amazing — obviously, the wildlife are not waiting for our opening date,” said Beth Pratt, president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund. “The animals are already blessing this crossing and saying, ‘Yep, you got it right.’”

Construction of the expansive bridge began in 2022, aimed at giving wildlife safe passage between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills after years of research.

Pratt said it’s unclear whether the images of the coyote are of the same animal. The coyote in the most recent image from Thursday morning can be seen on the 101 structure holding a bone or a stick in its mouth.

“The coyote is validating that we got this designed right, and I think that there's something also about a coyote being first — kind of the L.A. mascot next to P-22,” Pratt said.

The National Park Service is installing more cameras along the crossing to document and study how animals use it. While images will be made publicly available, there will not be a livestream.

“We can't, for security reasons, because this is L.A., and if there's a mountain lion going across, somebody's gonna go try to pet it,” Pratt said.

Topline:

• How we got here: Roy held on to a strong lead over McKinney ever since polls closed and is currently ahead by more than twice as many votes. Roy will be a fresh face to the role after the incumbent city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, was ousted in the June primary in a rare defeat of an elected city official. 

• What the candidates had to say: 
  
  • Roy said on social media Wednesday that election night was “a really good night for the people who believe that we should take care of one another, that we can stand up for our rights — even in what feels like an increasingly lawless world — and that we will achieve justice when we fight for it.”
  • McKinney posted on social media Thursday that he’s back in his old office at the Hall of Justice. “The run for City Attorney was an incredible journey, and I’m truly grateful for everyone who believed in me, supported me, and stood by my side,” McKinney wrote. "While I’m disappointed things didn’t turn out the way we hoped, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything." He acknowledged Roy in a social media video earlier this week, describing her as a “hard worker” who put together a strong coalition of support. McKinney added that he would be “rooting for her.”
  • Neither campaign immediately responded to LAist’s requests for additional comment.
• What’s at stake: The city attorney runs an office of more than 550 lawyers representing L.A. in all legal matters, including filing lawsuits and defending against them. Roy, backed by powerful progressives like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, has vowed to take on the Trump administration in court.
• Go deeper: Read more about the city attorney's role and what's on the table for Roy's first term.

Construction of the green metal fence around MacArthur Park will begin Monday, Nov. 16, with work scheduled to continue through fall 2027.

The city announced the start date Nov. 4, saying crews will install an 8-foot fence around the park’s perimeter. Nearby residents and businesses can expect some noise, dust and vibration during construction, although the city said mitigation measures will be in place.

Crews will work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the park will remain open while crews are working. 

The fence is the city’s latest attempt to tackle longstanding problems at MacArthur Park, including drug use, homelessness and crime.

The city first approved plans for the fence in October 2025, and the proposal has since drawn both support and criticism from residents and community groups.

Some say they hope the fence will make the park safer, while others question whether it will actually improve conditions there. Police and city officials say the fence will give them more control over the space and make it easier to enforce the law.

Ana Luz Vazquez, a street vendor near MacArthur Park, said her main concern about the fence is what will happen to the unhoused people who stay in the park throughout the day and whether the city plans to address that issue directly.

She is also concerned that construction during the day could affect her ability to work because of traffic, less parking availability and loud noise.

Vazquez said she would prefer construction to take place at night so it would have less of an impact on street vendors.

“If they’re working in the day then how are we supposed to come here and who is going to help us survive,” Vazquez said.

Construction will happen in two phases

Phase 1

• Alvarado St. from W. 6th St. to Wilshire Blvd.
• S. Park View St. from Wilshire Blvd. to W. 6th St.
• Wilshire Blvd. from Alvarado St. to S. Park View St.

Phase 2

• Alvarado St. from Wilshire Blvd. to W. 7th St.
• S. Park View St. from W. 7th St. to Wilshire Blvd.
• Wilshire Blvd. from S. Park View St. to Alvarado St.
• W. 7th St. from Alvarado St. to S. Park View St.

Existing trees will be protected and monitored during the work, according to the Department of Recreation and Parks. Traffic control measures will be in place during work hours, and crews will post temporary “No Parking” signs near active work areas in advance.

Services at the park are expected to remain the same throughout construction. The schedule could change because of weather or other unforeseen circumstances, according to the city.

The city has allocated $2.3 million for the project, but officials have not said whether that will cover the full cost.

After the fence is installed, the city plans a second phase focused on adding decorative elements. Officials have said residents will have an opportunity to provide input on the design.

Residents with questions or concerns about the project can contact Recreation and Parks at RAP.PublicInfo@lacity.org or 213-202-2700.

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