Public Works

Neighborhood Traffic Management Program

Background

The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) works to confirm safe conditions on residential streets through a data-driven response to speed and traffic concerns. The program aims for equity and transparency in analysis that promotes safe conditions for everyone—residents and their guests, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists—while ensuring that traffic management efforts are guided by community input and citywide priorities.

The NTMP, led by the Department of Public Works, delivers a range of tools and strategies to reduce vehicle speeds and improve neighborhood safety. Using data, community feedback, and proven quick-build treatments, the program directs limited resources toward streets with the greatest demonstrated need while coordinating with Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects, when feasible, for long-term design solutions.

Neighborhood Traffic Safety Measures

The neighborhood program delivers timely safety improvements through 'quick-build' treatments that can efficiently be installed and assessed, along with other traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures, including:

• Traffic Circles

  Traffic circles are designed to lower vehicle speeds and reduce the risk of collisions.

• Painted Bulb-outs

  Painted bulb-outs shorten pedestrian crossings, reduce turning speeds, and create street-art opportunities.

• Daylighting (Red Curb)

  Daylighting (red curb) improves safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists at corners and crosswalks by preventing parked cars from blocking visibility.

• Refuge Medians and Flexible Delineators

  Refuge medians and flexible delineators shorten crossings and keep turning vehicles in lane. Can be used to prevent cut-through traffic when placed across an intersection.

• Upgraded Pavement Markings and Striping

  Upgraded pavement markings and striping provide high-contrast markings and reflective elements to improve visibility.

• Speed Feedback Signs

  Speed feedback signs are typically placed in areas with changes in speed limits and near schools, or as a courtesy warning near enforcement devices.

• Speed Limit Reductions

  Speed limit reductions are based on a data-driven approach to restore or reduce speed limits where appropriate, such as near parks and schools, bringing neighborhood speeds from as high as 30 mph to as low as 15 - 20 mph.

Neighborhood Traffic Safety Requests

Each request is evaluated using comprehensive data, including field speed surveys, crash history, and traffic volumes. These factors are combined to create a Traffic Calming Priority Index (TCPI), which helps determine where countermeasures should be deployed. Locations that meet the TCPI priority threshold currently include one or more of the following:

• More than 26% of vehicles speeding
• At least one crash per year
• Daily traffic volumes exceeding 2,000 vehicles

The button below will take you to a neighborhood traffic calming request form. Please note this form is only for neighborhood streets. If your traffic safety concern involves a major corridor, please refer to the Safe Streets Long Beach Action Plan. The street in question may already be identified on the City's High-Injury Network map, and safety improvements efforts may already be underway.

View neighborhood traffic calming requests and TCPI rankings.

What to expect after submitting a request

Neighborhood traffic calming requests are reviewed quarterly. Data on traffic volume, speed, and collisions are collected to evaluate each location the quarter following request submission. Locations with a Traffic Calming Priority Index (TCPI) over 100, indicating higher speeds, traffic, and/or collisions, are prioritized for potential safety improvements.

Updates are posted on this webpage every three months. Qualified locations move into design and, once funded and with community input, are implemented.

FAQ's

• What are the requirements for installing speed bumps on my street?

  Speed bumps (called speed humps when placed on public streets) are designed to a standard that allows vehicles to cross them at 25mph. These devices are most effective in reducing instances of racing and very high speeds but are not recommended in areas where drivers are already traveling at 25 to 30mph. 

  Public Works will occasionally install speed humps, but only after a petition is prepared by the department to determine support for the devices in areas with high speeds. Other calming devices like those mentioned above can be tailored to the specific conditions of a street and are often more effective at addressing neighborhood concerns.

• Why can't the City just add a stop sign to slow everyone down?

  Stop signs are not considered traffic calming devices and exist to assign right-of-way at an intersection. State standards prohibit the use of stop signs to calm traffic and require a justification study prior to installation. The NTMP exists to respond more directly to conditions on local streets that may not be resolved by a stop sign.

• I see my street was studied last year. How soon can it be re-evaluated?

  Streets that were recommended for intervention will be evaluated after devices are installed to confirm their effectiveness. Streets that were not prioritized for a traffic calming device may be re-evaluated five years after their initial data collection. Special conditions such as a large adjacent development or long-term nearby street closure may cause a street to be re-evaluated sooner.