The Los Angeles City Council took two significant steps in late March 2026 to expand automated traffic enforcement across the city, approving a final map of 125 speed camera locations and directing city departments to explore a separate pilot for camera-based bike lane enforcement. Both decisions reflect a broader push in California to use technology, rather than police discretion, to manage road safety at scale.
Speed Camera Locations Confirmed After Years of Delay
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has been the last of the six state-authorised cities to reach this milestone. The council unanimously adopted the final location map and programme reports on 24 March 2026, following a 30-day public review period that opened in February. The 125 sites were selected using a combination of collision history, proximity to schools, senior centres and unmarked crosswalks, and high rates of recorded speeding. Each of the city’s 15 council districts received at least seven confirmed locations, with the final 20 chosen by LADOT staff based on projected safety impact.
Under California Assembly Bill 645, which became law in January 2024, only six cities are authorised to run speed safety camera pilots: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Glendale, and Long Beach. The law imposes requirements on data protection, equitable fines, public education, and community engagement. Cameras may only be triggered when a vehicle is travelling at least 11 miles per hour above the posted speed limit, and any revenue generated must be directed back into traffic safety improvements under Vision Zero goals.
Installation and Launch Timeline
With locations now confirmed, LADOT’s next step is to execute a vendor contract, which still requires sign-off from the City Attorney, the full City Council, and the Mayor. The city is pursuing a contract with Verra Mobility, leveraging “piggybacking” provisions that allow it to use terms already negotiated by other California cities rather than running a separate competitive procurement. Verra Mobility currently operates speed camera programmes in San Francisco and Oakland, and was selected earlier this year by both Glendale and Long Beach as their programme vendor.
Camera installation is expected to take place between April and July 2026. Once cameras are in place, a mandatory 60-day public awareness campaign must precede the issuance of any citations. A further 60-day warning period follows, during which drivers receive notices rather than fines. LADOT expects active enforcement to begin in late 2026. The full pilot will run for five years, after which LADOT is required by state law to report back to the legislature on safety and economic outcomes.
California’s Broader Automated Speed Enforcement Picture
Los Angeles is the last of the six authorised cities to reach the location-approval stage. San Francisco completed its procurement first, contracting with Verra Mobility in October 2024 to deploy cameras at 33 sites citywide. Oakland followed, and has had cameras in active operation since early 2026, with 18 systems deployed across the city. San Francisco has credited the programme with a reported 50% reduction in traffic deaths. Across comparable deployments in the United States, speed reduction figures at camera locations have reached as high as 94%, according to data cited by Verra Mobility. Glendale and Long Beach, which selected Verra Mobility in January 2026, are deploying systems at nine and 18 high-risk sites respectively, with those programmes scheduled to go live in autumn 2026.
Los Angeles accounts for a significantly larger geographic footprint than any other pilot city, which may explain part of the delay. The city’s programme also differs from past enforcement models in that it will be administered entirely by LADOT rather than law enforcement, and citations issued will not add points to driving records.
Bike Lane Camera Enforcement Moves Toward Study Phase
Separately, the council on 28 March approved a motion authored by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, directing LADOT to report back on how a camera-based bike lane enforcement pilot could be designed and implemented. The motion, filed under Council File 25-0558, was originally introduced in June 2025, meaning it spent approximately nine months in council before receiving a vote.
The approved motion does not authorise enforcement directly. It initiates a study process, with LADOT tasked with identifying a viable implementation framework, technology options, and budget considerations. The delayed approval means the programme is unlikely to be included in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, pushing any practical rollout further out.
Nearby Cities Already Running Bike Lane Camera Programmes
While Los Angeles is still at the planning stage, other cities in the region and beyond have moved further along. The City of Santa Monica is on the verge of becoming the first jurisdiction in California to launch automated bike lane enforcement. Under an expanded agreement with Hayden AI, seven of its parking enforcement vehicles are being equipped with a vision AI platform that detects, documents, and processes violations involving vehicles illegally stopped in bike lanes. A six-week pilot conducted in spring 2024 recorded 1,679 violations using two test vehicles, providing the evidentiary basis for the programme’s expansion. The full rollout, funded in part through the city’s Measure K allocation, was expected to launch in late spring 2026.
Hayden AI’s platform, which uses an onboard computer, a context camera, and a licence plate reader on each vehicle, is already deployed on more than 2,100 transit buses globally, including in Oakland and Sacramento in California, and in cities such as New York, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. Santa Monica is the first city in the United States to apply the technology to standard parking enforcement vehicles rather than buses, extending coverage to bike lanes that do not run along transit routes.
In Hoboken, New Jersey, camera enforcement of both bike lanes and bus lanes is already fully operational, offering a reference point for cities still in the planning phase.
Automated Enforcement as Urban Infrastructure Policy
The convergence of speed camera and bike lane camera programmes across California reflects a shifting approach to road safety, one that leans on fixed and mobile sensor infrastructure rather than expanding police resources. For Los Angeles, a city with a documented rate of 16% of fatal and severe crashes attributable to unsafe speeds between 2017 and 2021, the stakes of programme execution are substantial. How quickly the city can finalise its contract and move through the installation and warning phases will determine whether any enforcement is in place before the end of the year.
The bike lane study adds a longer-horizon element to the city’s automated enforcement agenda. Whether it results in a funded pilot before the end of the current council term will depend on how swiftly LADOT can produce a viable implementation proposal and how the city council prioritises the programme in budget negotiations.
