Public Safety
New law allows two speed cameras on PCH in Long Beach
Senate Bill 1279 adds Pacific Coast Highway to the city’s automated-enforcement pilot, with privacy rules, advance notice and a 60-day warning period.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1279, authorizing Long Beach to operate two additional speed-safety systems on Pacific Coast Highway, NBC Los Angeles reported September 28. The law takes effect January 1 and expands the city’s existing automated-enforcement pilot to a state highway corridor that had been excluded under prior law.
What it means locally
The enrolled bill says roughly one in five Long Beach traffic deaths occurs along the eight-mile PCH corridor through the city. Before enforcement begins, Long Beach must publish camera locations and operating hours, conduct a public-information campaign for at least 30 days and issue warnings instead of fines during the first 60 days at each new location. Cameras may document rear license plates but may not use facial recognition; images of people or vehicles not connected to a violation must be blurred, and data use and retention are restricted. The law authorizes the cameras but does not itself select their locations. The accompanying photograph is an archival U.S. Air Force aerial view of Long Beach taken sometime between 1917 and 1964; it is not an image of PCH or a speed-safety system.
Full report and further details: Read original report →