Senator Lena Gonzalez’s Bill to Improve Safety on the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach Passes Senate

SACRAMENTO, CA — On May 19, 2026, Senator Lena Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 1279, which aims to reduce speed-related fatalities on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Long Beach, passed the Senate on a 32-6 vote. 

Roughly every 2.5 minutes, a car accident causing injury or death occurs on California roads. To improve traffic safety, the state has launched initiatives including a speed camera pilot program spanning six cities from San Francisco to Long Beach. Speed cameras are proven to make streets safer – since implementing the pilot program, San Francisco has seen a 72% decrease in speeding.

While the PCH only accounts for 8 miles of Long Beach’s 217 miles of high-capacity roadway, 20% of the City’s crash fatalities occur there, but under current law, the PCH is excluded from the speed camera pilot program. Unlike in other parts of the state, the PCH in Long Beach passes directly through the City, next to schools, libraries, and parks that see a high volume of pedestrian activity every day. SB 1279 will update the pilot program to allow Long Beach to place speed cameras along the PCH, giving the City the tools it needs to reduce traffic fatalities on this busy road. 

“Last year, Long Beach experienced its highest number of traffic fatalities in a decade, and an eight-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway accounts for a significant number of those deadly traffic incidents,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez. “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.” 

“I want to thank Senator Lena Gonzalez for her continued advocacy to make PCH safer for everyone who lives, works, and travels through our communities,” said Long Beach Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga. “District 7 residents and businesses have seen the impacts of dangerous speeding along this corridor for too long. This bill will save lives and improve safety on the PCH.”

“PCH in Long Beach is exactly the kind of corridor speed safety cameras were designed for: high-speed, high-injury, deadly, and fixable. Streets For All sponsored AB 645 because California needed a better way to reduce dangerous speeding, and SB 1279 gives Long Beach the authority to use that proven tool where it is urgently needed,” said Marc T. Vukcevich, Director of State Policy, Streets For All.

“SB 1279 is about saving lives. Long Beach has a huge problem with speeding drivers and traffic violence, especially along PCH. San Francisco has seen a 72% drop in speeding where speed safety systems are used and a 42% drop in traffic fatalities in one year. SB 1279 will authorize these same tools for PCH, and hopefully, the regular reports of traffic fatalities along PCH in Long Beach will become a trickle or disappear altogether as a result,” said Damian Kevitt, Streets are for Everyone.

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About Senator Lena Gonzalez 

Senator Lena Gonzalez proudly represents one million residents in California’s 33rd Senate District, which encompasses Southeast Los Angeles, the City and Port of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, and Catalina Island. She serves as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and is a dedicated advocate on key priorities that impact Californians from economic development and environmental justice to LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, digital equity and more. Senator Gonzalez has championed major policies, including broadband for all, expanding paid sick leave, advancing clean transportation incentives, and ending neighborhood oil drilling. She lives in Long Beach with her family. To learn more, visit www.sen.ca.gov/gonzalez.

About Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga

Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga serves as Vice Mayor and Seventh District Councilmember, representing Wrigley and West Long Beach with a strong focus on community and economic investment. A key leader behind the Westside Promise, he has helped advance resources to the Westside, including park enhancements and greater access to open space. With prior service on the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees (2000-2014) and the California Coastal Commission (2015-2025), he remains a steadfast champion for labor, education, environmental justice, and opportunity for all.

About Streets For All 

Streets For All is a California-based transportation and land use advocacy organization that is engaged in work that promotes sustainable multi-modal transportation solutions, street safety, and smart land use decision-making.

About Streets Are For Everyone

Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in January 2015 that aims to improve the quality of life for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers alike by reducing traffic fatalities to zero. SAFE addresses the problem in a holistic fashion through direct education, broad awareness campaigns, partnerships, community outreach, policy and legislation, support for those impacted, and other proven strategies.