Long Beach Wants Speed Cameras On Deadly Stretch Of PCH

LONG BEACH, CA — After 39 people died in crashes along an eight-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in six years, Long Beach could soon get two new tools aimed at slowing speeding drivers.

Senate Bill 1279, authored by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, cleared the Legislature this week and was formally enrolled Thursday, putting the decision in Gov. Gavin Newsom's hands and he has until Sept. 30 to act on the legislation.

The bill would allow Long Beach to operate two additional automated speed cameras specifically along PCH, where existing state law otherwise prevents the city from using cameras authorized through California's speed enforcement pilot program.

"Everyone should be able to travel along PCH safely, whether they are driving to work, walking to school, biking to the park, or simply crossing the street in their neighborhood," Gonzalez said after the bill passed the Legislature.

"By adding this corridor to California's speed safety camera pilot program, SB 1279 will give Long Beach another proven tool to reduce dangerous speeding, make our streets safer, and save lives."

PCH represents only about eight miles of Long Beach's 217 miles of high-capacity roadway but has accounted for 39 of the city's 192 crash fatalities since 2020, according to Gonzalez's office.

The enrolled legislation says approximately one in five traffic fatalities in Long Beach occurs along that eight-mile stretch. It reaches Newsom's office after Long Beach recorded its highest number of traffic fatalities in more than a decade last year.

And the deaths have continued. At least three speed-related traffic fatalities occurred along Long Beach's stretch of PCH during the first eight months of 2026, according to Damian Kevitt, executive director of Streets Are For Everyone.

Speed Cameras Already Coming To Long Beach

Long Beach has already selected 18 locations for automated speed cameras under Assembly Bill 645, which authorized six California jurisdictions to use cameras on high-injury streets, in school zones and on streets with documented histories of illegal street racing. But none of those cameras can be placed on PCH.

State law generally prohibits the systems from operating on state routes. Because PCH is State Route 1, Long Beach needs separate authorization from Sacramento to deploy cameras there. SB 1279 would create that exception and allow two additional cameras on PCH beyond the city's existing 18-camera limit.

Long Beach has formally backed the effort. Mayor Rex Richardson wrote state lawmakers in March, saying PCH accounted for nearly 20% of traffic fatalities in the city despite making up less than 1% of its arterial roadway network.

The city initially supported allowing as many as six additional cameras on PCH, but lawmakers ultimately narrowed the legislation to two.

Under Long Beach's Speed Safety System, cameras capture the rear license plate of a vehicle traveling at least 11 mph over the posted speed limit. Violations are civil penalties and citation information is not shared with the Long Beach Police Department or other law enforcement agencies, according to the city.

All violations result in warnings during the first 60 days of operation. A driver's first violation for traveling between 11 and 15 mph over the limit also results in a warning if the driver did not receive one during that initial period.

Afterward, penalties are $50 for traveling 11 to 15 mph over the limit, $100 for 16 to 25 mph over and $200 for 26 mph or more over the limit. A $500 penalty applies to vehicles traveling 100 mph or faster.

Exactly where the two PCH cameras would be installed has not been announced. If Newsom signs SB 1279, the additional PCH authorization would remain in effect through the end of 2031, when California's speed-camera pilot program is scheduled to expire.

Related:

• 18 New Speed Cameras Coming To Long Beach Streets: See Where
• 185 New Speed Cameras Coming To CA Roads: See Where
• 125 Speed Cameras To Be Installed Across LA This Year: See Map Of Locations