Los Angeles changing some speed limits, increasing enforcement

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- If you drive in the city of Los Angeles, expect to see an increased presence of LAPD traffic officers with radar and laser detectors.

Sixty-eight percent of all city streets now have enforceable speed limits thanks to updated speed surveys.

"Even though we could do enforcement by following cars, any enforcement where people said, 'Oh, well there's no speed survey updated,' that would get tossed out, so this will hold up in court. And let me make something clear, this is not to generate revenue for the city of Los Angeles to pay for other things. Any revenue that's generated goes right back into traffic improvements," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation fell behind on traffic surveys because of budget cuts. Now, under the Vision Zero initiative which aims to eliminate traffic deaths on city streets by 2025, they've caught up. The Los Angeles Police Department has reserved $1.5 million in overtime funds to help enforce the speed limits, some of which have been increased, others decreased.

"Traffic collisions, traffic fatalities are one of the biggest threats to public health and safety in Los Angeles. We are absolutely committed to making sure that our children are safe while they're at school. We need to be equally committed to making sure they're safe on their way to school," said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin.

New data shows that pedestrian deaths in Los Angeles actually increased 80 percent in the first two years of Vision Zero -- 134 people on foot were killed by drivers in 2017.

"The stats that the mayor enumerated are sobering, and they're bracing, and they're staggering," said Bonin.

Garcetti said increased enforcement for speeding and driving while texting will make our streets safer for pedestrians.

"People still think, 'Oh, I'm not supposed to talk on my cell phone, but it's OK to be texting or they don't pull over to figure out the mapping they're using on WAZE or Google Maps to get places. Pull over. It's against the law to be on your phones while you're driving your vehicle," said Garcetti.