Pasadena Considers Easing Speed Hump Requirements

City officials will consider making it easier to install speed humps on residential streets when the Municipal Services Committee meets Tuesday.

The Department of Transportation wants to lower the minimum daily traffic requirement from 1,000 car trips to 500 car trips per day. Officials also want to change voting rules for neighborhoods seeking speed humps. These items will be discussed at the meeting.

Currently, 67% of all households must approve speed hump installation. The proposed change would require 67% approval only from ballots returned, not all households.

An Agenda Report from the Department of Transportation said officials reviewed speed hump requests from January 2023 through April 2025. Eight street segments had speeding problems but failed to meet the 1,000-trip minimum. These streets recorded speeds of at least 33 mph in the 85th percentile, the report said.

Three other street segments met physical requirements but failed the voting threshold due to low participation. Ballot return rates ranged from 46% to 78%. Approval rates among returned ballots ranged from 75% to 94%, according to the report.

The current policy treats non-votes as “no” votes. This makes it hard to reach the 67% threshold of all households.

Transportation Director Joaquin T. Siques said the changes would create “an easier path to implement speed humps on streets that have a documented speeding issue.”

The city installs 8-10 speed humps per year on about two streets. Each speed hump costs $4,000 to $5,000.

Pasadena has used speed hump policies since 1984. The rules were last updated in 2020 to include more street types.

The report said the city’s Transportation Advisory Commission supported the proposed changes at its June 26 meeting.

Other cities use similar requirements, according to the Transportation Department. Burbank requires 500 car trips per day. Glendale requires 1,000 car trips per day.

Professional transportation groups recommend minimum requirements ranging from 500 to 1,000 car trips per day.

The Municipal Services Committee meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the City Council Chamber at City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue.

The recommendations will be forwarded to the full City Council next month. If approved, the policy changes would take effect immediately.