Nearly half of Los Angeles’ streets have speed limits based on outdated speed surveys, which has prevented Los Angeles police officers from using radar and laser devices to enforce rules against speeding.

Speed limits have expired on about 47 percent, or 596 miles, of streets, rendering those limits unenforceable in most cases, according to LAPD and Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials.

So city officials have been working over the past two years to update the limits by doing “speed surveys” or studies, clocking how fast most people are currently driving on those roads. The focus has been on getting the limits updated and enforceable along major streets with the highest frequency of traffic injuries and deaths.

The speed surveys are required due to a state law aimed at preventing “speed traps” from being set with artificially low limits.

But that law has made it more difficult for Los Angeles officials to enforce its speed limits, especially with city staff shrinkages. Such reductions previously left two people to do the studies when there used to be seven.

Under state law, to be able to enforce speed limits, surveys must be done to establish, or re-establish the limits every seven or 10 years.

Speed limits stayed the same on hundreds of miles of streets as a result of the surveys. But they have also led to proposed speed limit increases or decreases on dozens of streets throughout the city. Those changes require approval by the Los Angeles City Council to go into effect.

If the proposed changes are approved, the number of miles with up-to-date speed limits would go up to 64 percent citywide. At the same time, speed limits on 100 percent of the street miles designated as part of a “high-injury-network” would be made current and enforceable, according to Transportation Department spokeswoman Lilly O’Brien.

Speed limit increases are being proposed for a total of about 94 miles on 26 street segments, the majority of them in the San Fernando Valley. Many of the limits are now set at 35 mph and would be raised to 40 mph.

The proposed changes are set to be considered by the Los Angeles City Council’s Transportation Committee on Oct. 25. If approved there, they would go to the full council for a vote.

http://www.dailynews.com/2017/10/20/speed-limits-in-la-could-go-up-on-94-miles-of-streets-under-a-plan-to-restore-lapd-enforcement%E2%80%8B/

The state “speed trap” law prevents cities from setting “arbitrarily low” speed limits.

 This law is defended by the California Highway Patrol and AAA.

California requires local municipalities to periodically conduct speed studies and then to set speed limits based on how fast most drivers are already going. Cities are required to make the speed limit match the 85th percentile of prevailing traffic. Changes worsened the law in 2009 by taking away a modicum of local discretion to set slightly lower speed limits.

At the June 8th, 2016 Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee, LAPD officer Troy Williams pissed and whined about the state of speed enforcement in Los Angeles.

 Per Williams, as of late last year, 75 percent of L.A. streets had expired speed surveys, meaning that LAPD’s speed limits were not enforced.

https://la.streetsblog.org/2016/06/09/l-a-city-faces-devils-bargain-increase-limits-to-allow-speed-enforcement/

the full list of proposed speed limit changes are at  https://la.streetsblog.org/2017/10/11/ladot-proposes-speed-limit-increases-and-decreases/