Beverly Hills Begins Lower Speed Limit Rollout October 1

Beverly Hills will begin lowering speed limits on 19 street segments October 1, bringing 20 mph limits to much of its shopping district and reducing several major corridors to 30 mph under a newly adopted city ordinance.

The changes cut each affected segment's limit by 5 mph. Drivers will see new signs installed over the following several weeks, and the city says the lower limits become enforceable once those signs are posted. The October 1 start date therefore marks the beginning of the rollout, with the change taking effect on individual streets as installation proceeds.

The reductions reach beyond Rodeo Drive and the Business Triangle. They include Beverly Drive south to Whitworth Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard between Moreno Drive and Rexford Drive, and portions of Olympic, La Cienega, North Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards.

The city said its decision followed an assessment by a consulting firm that examined streets subject to state-required engineering and traffic surveys, along with changes in California law governing how local governments set speed limits.

Assembly Bill 43, which took effect in January 2022, expanded local authority to lower limits in qualifying business activity districts and on streets with specified safety concerns. California's survey-based framework uses the 85th-percentile speed, the speed at or below which 85 percent of free-flowing vehicles travel, as a starting point. The law provides additional ways to account for pedestrian and bicycle activity and crash risk.

Mayor Craig Corman said the reductions are intended to improve safety for people driving, walking and cycling.

"Reducing our speed limits in key corridors throughout Beverly Hills will help ensure the safety of motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists," Corman said in the city's announcement. "These new, updated limits should lead to fewer vehicle and pedestrian crashes, making our City more enjoyable to walk and travel through."

In explaining the safety rationale, the city cited research from the National Association of City Transportation Officials showing that a person struck by a vehicle traveling at 35 mph is five times more likely to die than someone struck at 20 mph.

The 20 mph limits, down from 25 mph, will apply to Bedford, Camden, Cañon, Crescent, Rexford, Rodeo and Roxbury drives between North Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard. Beverly Drive will carry the same lower limit between North Santa Monica Boulevard and Whitworth Drive.

Other segments dropping to 20 mph are Brighton Way between Wilshire Boulevard and Crescent Drive; Clifton Way between Cañon and Rexford drives; Dayton Way between Wilshire Boulevard and Rexford Drive; Linden Drive between South Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard; and South Santa Monica Boulevard between Moreno and Rexford drives.

Six segments will drop from 35 mph to 30 mph: Benedict Cañon Drive from the northern city limits to Sunset Boulevard; Doheny Drive from Phyllis Street to Santa Monica Boulevard; La Cienega Boulevard from Clifton Way to Olympic Boulevard; Olympic Boulevard from the western city limits to Robertson Boulevard; North Santa Monica Boulevard from the western city limits to Doheny Drive; and San Vicente Boulevard between the northern and southern city limits.

State law also provides a transition period for certain reductions. California Vehicle Code sections 22358.7 and 22358.9 require warning citations during the first 30 days for drivers exceeding a newly lowered limit by 10 mph or less when the reduction is authorized under those sections. The city's announcement does not describe a street-by-street warning or citation schedule.

For drivers, the immediate change will be visible on the roadside: watch for the replacement signs as crews move through the affected streets in the weeks after October 1.