Posted by Councilmember Englander on June 30, 2017 at 11:41 AM

On Wednesday I joined LAPD and LADOT to mark the completion of the new rumble strips installation on Plummer Street along the stretch of road known as the "Canoga Speedway." This follows a motion I introduced in May to fund a pilot project to test if rumble strips could be used as a potential deterrent against illegal street racing without affecting the regular flow of traffic.

In the last five years, nine people have been killed and an additional 64 injured during illegal street racing. With these new rumble strips, we're sending a message that our neighborhood streets are not race tracks and that we will not tolerate the kind of reckless behavior that puts lives at risk.

Rumble strips are high endurance, thermoplastic strips that are embedded in the roadway to alert drivers. While they will not slow down drivers who are going the speed limit or emergency response vehicles, they will prevent racers from getting the kind of traction they prefer when racing and, in doing so, make the street itself a less desirable location to stage a race.

This pilot is the first time this technology has been used to combat illegal street racing. And while it's too early to draw final conclusions about the pilot, in the week that the rumble strips have been installed, there have been zero complaints of illegal street racing in the area. 

I am very interested to see the results from this pilot and hear your comments and suggestions about where you think this tool might be usefully applied next. Feel free to call my office at (818) 882-1212 or email Councilmember.Englander@lacity.org.