LA released proposed locations for speed cameras. Here’s how you can weigh in

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation released the locations around the city it feels would most benefit from camera systems, which, once up and running later this year, will automatically detect speeding violations and help generate citations.

The background: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in October 2023 that authorizes several cities throughout the state to pilot speed safety cameras. The number of cameras in each city is based on population, and L.A. has authority to install the systems at 125 locations throughout the city.

The criteria: It probably doesn’t need to be said, but there are a lot of miles of roads in L.A. To identify potential locations for cameras, the city looked at 550 miles of corridors that are already known to see speeding cars, where past interventions to tamp down on speeding haven’t been effective and where speeding has been determined to be the primary reason for collisions. The number of lanes and proximity to schools, senior centers and street racing hotspots were also factored in. Council offices were consulted, as well.

Map indicates streets and corridors with a history of what the city of L.A. calls "priority safety corridors." Click to see document with this map and other findings.

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The proposed locations: The city is proposing to install cameras on street light poles at “mid-block locations.” The city is recommending spreading the systems nearly equally among the council districts. In the middle of this page is a map (shown below) showing the proposed locations. You can see the names of the locations in this council file.

Proposed location of speed cameras. Click to see an interactive version.

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Why it matters: Traffic collisions in the city of Los Angeles killed 290 people last year, and more than 150 fatal collisions involved pedestrians, according to Los Angeles Police Department data. It's also 60 more people than died by homicide last year. That means the city is far from the goal it set more than a decade ago of reaching zero such deaths by 2025.

Share your thoughts: The public can share their thoughts on the proposed locations before the L.A. City Council weighs in. The public can also comment on other legislatively mandated documents outlining, among other aspects of the program, how the city plans to protect civil liberties and the data that went into selecting proposed camera locations.

Instructions for public comment: City officials are asking public comments be submitted through the council file or as an email to Department of Transportation staff: ladot.speedsafety@lacity.org.

The timeline: L.A. is further behind its peer cities in installing the camera systems. San Francisco launched its cameras last year, Oakland’s went up earlier this year and Long Beach recently approved locations for its batch. L.A. expects to launch a 60-day public information campaign this summer before activating the cameras in July, followed by an additional 60-day period during which violators will receive warnings. After that warning period is over, the cameras will begin issuing citations.