UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies

The city of Los Angeles adopted a Vision Zero policy intending to eliminate fatal traffic deaths by 2025, but this vision will be difficult to fully achieve without lowering cut-through traffic in residential neighborhoods. To this end, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has implemented traffic-calming measures throughout the city, recognizing that collisions may not be entirely preventable but can be reduced in likelihood and severity through roadway design. The department has a process whereby residents can apply for speed humps quarterly but the program is oversubscribed. Traffic calming is in high demand; however, few studies address the issue in Los Angeles within the past few years. This policy brief summarizes a study that addresses the safety outcomes of traffic-calming measures installed throughout the city in recent years, with a sensitivity toward the cost of implementation, an important constraint that Los Angeles is bound by given its size and sprawling network of streets.