More than 250 fatal or serious micromobility accidents happen every year across the South Bay, the South Bay Cities Council of Governments says, and the council says it now has a plan to bring that number down. The South Bay Cities Council of Governments has launched a plan.
The initiative is detailed in a plan shared by the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.
The effort is funded through a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant.
Southern California Association of Governments
, which received $12 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2023 to build a regional safety action plan and fund subregional traffic injury reduction projects across six Southern California counties. That regional plan is part of the grant-funded effort.
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments is leading the safety effort.
Council Holds a Micromobility Ride-and-Drive Event
The council hosted a micromobility ride-and-drive at a National Night Out event.
Micromobility can serve daily commutes, errands, grocery runs, and school trips, and 70% of South Bay trips are three miles or less.
Low-Speed Street Network Expands Beyond El Segundo
Underlying the safety push is the South Bay Local Travel Network, a proposed route of existing low-speed streets intended to support micromobility and make navigation easier for non-drivers. The network has already been implemented in El Segundo, which served as its inaugural pilot site, and is now launching in Redondo Beach. Per the California Association of Councils of Governments, the full network is designed as a 243-mile interconnected route system across 16 South Bay jurisdictions on streets posted at 25 mph or less, marked by branded “rolling turtle” wayfinding signs and street sharrows meant to signal that, as SBCCOG puts it, slow is the way to go.
That subregional approach exists alongside tougher local enforcement in individual beach cities. Manhattan Beach enacted an urgency ordinance setting a 15 mph speed limit on its beach bike path and banning e-bikes on city sidewalks, plazas, and the Strand, according to the City of Manhattan Beach. Hermosa Beach adopted its own urgency ordinance establishing e-bike fines between $250 and $1,000, capping Strand speeds at 8 mph, banning riding on sidewalks in commercial zones and on the Greenbelt trail, and allowing police to impound e-bikes operated by cited minors, per the Beach Cities Health District.
New State Law Targets Middle and High School Riders
California lawmakers responded with Assembly Bill 1569, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law, directing the California Department of Education, in consultation with the California Highway Patrol, to develop standardized e-bike safety training for students in grades 7 through 12, as reported by ABC10.
SBCCOG has proposed a school e-bike safety sticker program. California e-bikes are split into three classes: Class 1 and Class 2 models assist up to 20 mph, and Class 3 pedal-assist bikes top out at 28 mph and require riders to be at least 16 years old, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Pilot Infrastructure Supports Safer Crossings
The council's safety effort also includes pilot infrastructure supported by South Bay Measure M funds and protected crossings.
The combination of slow-street infrastructure, local fines, and school-based education reflects a region trying to keep pace with a technology that is evolving faster than the rules meant to govern it. For South Bay families weighing whether a middle schooler should ride an e-bike to campus, or whether a commuter should trade a car trip for a scooter, the regional safety plan and planned student safety training aim to make those choices safer.
