"This is a significant situation," Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said. "When we see an increase in traffic fatalities; when we see people losing their lives in traffic collisions, it's devastating," Hebeish said.
The police chief said there were 56 traffic fatalities in the city last year. As of April this year, there have been 22 fatalities so far.
"I've seen children that have died behind unfortunate tragedies with vehicle collisions, and it's heartbreaking," Hebeish said.
The renewed focus on enforcement follows several recent deadly incidents. On March 2, 2026, a three-year-old girl was killed when a driver, for some reason, backed up, jumped a curb and struck three people who were sitting on front steps. A month earlier, 54-year-old Lori Ann Carreon was killed while riding her bike.
"It's just a huge tragedy that we lost Lori Ann," said Christianne Zah-Webber of Long Beach.
Zah-Webber said additional safety measures are needed in the area.
"It would be great if we had a traffic light here," she said.
Another resident, Edward Andrew Boswell, described concerns about the same location.
"This particular intersection is simply an accident waiting to happen," Boswell said.
In addition to increased enforcement, Boswell said he would like to see speed bumps installed. He recalled a past crash he described as severe.
"I remember a very terrible accident with someone in a rental Mustang blasting through at 90 miles an hour, and they totaled out the car and it was like an explosion," Boswell said.
Hebeish said preventing deaths requires awareness from everyone on the road.
"Sometimes we forget that vehicles are extremely dangerous, and our bodies are not meant to collide with a vehicle. So paying attention to that; being aware of that," he said.
"If the pedestrian is aware of their surroundings, and the person behind the wheel is aware of where they're driving, I think that can make us all safer."