Pasadena Transportation Commission to Review Speed Hump Policy Changes Thursday

The Transportation Advisory Commission will review proposed changes to the City’s Speed Hump Policies and Procedures at its meeting Thursday, as city transportation officials seek to expand the use of traffic calming measures on residential streets experiencing speeding issues.

The proposed amendments, submitted by Director of Transportation Joaquin Siques, would lower the minimum daily traffic volume required for speed hump eligibility from 1,000 to 500 car trips per day.

Officials say the change would bring Pasadena’s policy in line with best practices recommended by national agencies and more closely mirror the policy used by the City of Burbank.

City staff also recommend revising the current voting process, which requires 67% approval from all households on an affected street. Under the proposed change, speed hump installations would instead require 67% approval from ballots returned to the Department of Transportation—removing the current policy that counts non-responses as “no” votes.

Transportation officials say the adjustments are necessary after recent data showed several Pasadena street segments with documented speeding issues were disqualified from the speed hump program due to low traffic volumes or voter non-participation. Between January 2023 and April, eight eligible streets failed to qualify under existing criteria, while three others failed due to insufficient ballot returns.

The proposed amendments were presented to TAC’s Complete Streets Subcommittee earlier this month and received unanimous support.

City officials say the recommendations are backed by a comprehensive review of national standards, including those from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, and Caltrans.

The review confirmed that Pasadena’s current policy—last updated in 2020—is consistent with industry standards but conservative in its minimum trip requirements.

The Transportation Advisory Commission is expected to provide feedback to the City Council ahead of a future vote on adopting the proposed amendments.