CITY OF HAWAIIAN GARDENS
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item #C1
DATE: March 11, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Ernesto Marquez, City Manager
BY: Neema Ghanbari, M.S., P.E., Public Works Director
Jeffrey Lau, P.E., T.E., Traffic Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE WILLDAN ENGINEERING UPDATED TRAFFIC CALMING STUDY FOR CLARETTA AVENUE BETWEEN 214TH STREET AND 211TH STREET, AND AUTHORIZE STAFF TO IMPLEMENT TRAFFIC
CALMING MEASURES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
On August 13, 2025, the City Council directed staff to conduct a traffic study to evaluate the feasibility of installing a speed hump or other traffic calming measures near Melbourne Elementary School, along Claretta Avenue between 211th Street and 214th Street.
On August 20, 2025, the City’s Public Works Department requested that Willdan Engineering, the City’s on-call engineering consultant, evaluate the traffic conditions along Claretta Avenue and provide a traffic calming study and recommendations if justified.
On January 21, 2026, Willdan Engineering submitted the traffic calming study to the City for review and consideration. The key findings of the report are as follows:
Traffic Counts and Speed Data
Vehicular speed and volume data were collected on Claretta Avenue between 211th Street and 212th Street for a 24-hour period over three separate weeks to verify consistency in existing traffic conditions. The initial data collection was conducted on a weekday, Thursday, September 25, 2025, and a weekend, Sunday, September 28, 2025. To supplement and confirm the initial data collection, additional 24-hour traffic data were collected on Thursday, November 6, 2025; Sunday, November 9, 2025; Thursday, December 4, 2025; and Sunday, December 14, 2025.
Agenda Item #C1
March 11, 2026
The results of 24-hour traffic volume counts and speed data indicate that approximately 85 percent of motorists are traveling at or below the posted speed limit. If a formal speed survey were conducted using the observed 85th percentile speeds, the data would support and justify maintaining a 25 mph posted speed limit on Claretta Avenue.
Across all data collection days, approximately 12 to 17.2 percent of vehicles were observed traveling above 25 mph, and only 0.1 to 0.3 percent of vehicles were traveling more than 10 mph above the posted speed limit. These results indicate a low occurrence of excessive speeding on Claretta Avenue.
Collision Data
A review of the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Record System (SWITRS) for a recent three-year period of January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024, indicated three (3) reported collisions within the study segment.
None of the crashes appear to be related to speeding. Two of the crashes did occur just north of 212th Street, but other than that, there are no discernable crash trends related to speeding amongst the reported crash data.
Sheriff’s Citation Data
The Lakewood/Hawaiian Gardens City Sergeant of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reviewed the citations issued between January 1, 2023, and October 15, 2025, and determined that there were no citations issued on Claretta Avenue between 211th and 213th Street during this time period.
Traffic Calming Measures and Recommendations
Based on the observed 85th percentile speeds ranging from 24 to 25 mph, Claretta Avenue does not exhibit a corridor-wide speeding condition. The majority of motorists are traveling at or below the posted 25 mph speed limit. Additionally, the collision history does not indicate a speed-related crash pattern.
Physical traffic calming measures are generally intended to address widespread speeding conditions. In this case, a full permanent installation of traditional speed humps may not be proportional to the overall operating speed profile. However, a limited and reversible pilot program utilizing rubber speed cushions may represent a balanced and data-driven response. Rubber speed cushions offer several advantages, including targeted speed reduction, accommodation for emergency vehicles, and a modular, reversible installation.
Targeted speed enforcement during the weekday evening peak period is considered a more appropriate and proportional response to address the occasional speeding behavior that was observed.
Agenda Item #C1
March 11, 2026
In addition, the City does not have speed hump installation guidelines or a policy in place, but when using neighboring cities' speed hump guidelines, speed humps would not be recommended on Claretta Avenue.
Also, based on the traffic and collision data, the CA MUTCD warrants for an all-way stop were not satisfied for the intersection of Claretta Avenue at Gradwell Street.
Based on the above evaluation, the Traffic Engineer recommends the following measures:
1- Increase enforcement.
2- Establish a Citywide speed hump policy.
3- Update school crossing assembly signs for the uncontrolled crosswalk at Claretta Avenue and 213th Street to be compliant with the most recent California MUTCD Guidelines.
4- Implement a pilot program installing rubber speed cushions along Claretta Avenue between 214th Street and 211th Street.
FISCAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds have been appropriated in the Public Works Department’s Engineering Services Contract Account for Fiscal Year 2025–26 to cover the cost of the traffic study and the implementation of its recommendations.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve Recommendation.
ATTACHMENT(S)
A. Updated Traffic Calming Study for Claretta Ave between 214th St and 211th St