Stop Sign Pattern Stop signs are sometimes viewed as a cure-all for solving residential speeding problems. But four-way stop sign controls should be used only where high safety risks exist or high-to-moderate traffic comes from each direction. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has pioneered the concept of a two-way stop pattern as a more appropriate alternative to four-way stops. This pattern places two-way stop signs at every other intersection in a residential area.

The two-way stop pattern:     Manages excessive speeds Provides needed right-of-way control Avoids creating routes attractive to commuters

Speed Humps

LADOT engineers have found that speed humps can lower critical (85th percentile) speeds on local, residential streets to within a range between the speed limit and five miles per hour above the speed limit.

Speed humps resemble longer and flatter versions of the speed bumps commonly found in parking lots. LADOT's Type I speed humps are 12 feet long slightly and less than three inches high. Type II speed humps (a.k.a. speed tables) are 22 feet long and are applied on qualifying streets with traffic flow or slopes that are within higher thresholds.

		Speed hump installation can be considered on streets where:
		A speeding problem has been documented 500 or more vehicles travel per day No odd geometric features exist At least 75 percent of the residences along the block(s) support the proposal

Other Traffic Calming Measures

Other options may be considered in special cases where common proposals are not feasible or when residential streets are being heavily used by commuter traffic.

See the “Neighborhood Traffic Management Plans” section for a description of these measures.