The City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to authorize an automated red-light camera program and to adopt a broad new framework for reducing traffic deaths, capping a decade in which Santa Monica fell short of its goal of eliminating fatal and serious crashes.
The vote directed staff to establish an Automated Traffic Enforcement System, or ATES, under a 2025 state law and endorsed a shift from the city's longstanding "five-E" safety model to a seven-element "Safe System" approach. It also advanced a neighborhood traffic-calming toolkit, a curb-management pilot and a modernized delivery-robot program.
"Tonight's action would just authorize the city to establish a program," Mobility Division Manager Colleen Stoll told the council, describing the camera measure as "the very preliminary step." No vendor or camera locations were selected. Staff said an initial deployment would target two signalized intersections, with a citywide program possible over time.
The camera program relies on Senate Bill 720, which routes red-light violations through a civil administrative process rather than criminal citations. Penalties are tied to the vehicle's registered owner and range from $100 for a first violation to $500, plus a $50 late fee, with lower amounts for low-income drivers. Stoll emphasized the cameras would operate separately from police. Asked by Councilmember Ellis Raskin whether the Police Department could use them, she said, "No. So that's part of SB 720. These cameras are completely separate."
The action came against a backdrop of unmet goals. The city committed in 2016 to eliminating fatal and severe-injury crashes by 2026. From 2021 through 2025, Santa Monica recorded 214 such crashes, including 21 fatalities. "Of those 21 fatalities, 20 involved somebody biking or walking," Stoll said. Total fatal and severe-injury crashes fell from 62 in 2024 to 52 in 2025, but pedestrian-involved crashes rose every year of the period.
Stoll said the crashes were widely dispersed rather than clustered at a few intersections, which "tells us that we can't rely on just fixing a couple of locations." The Safe System framework, she said, assumes "we are humans, and humans make mistakes," and calls for designing streets so mistakes are less likely to be fatal. Santa Monica's version adds two elements not found in most versions elsewhere: Safe Land Use and Safe and Viable Transit.
Much of the discussion focused on traffic diversion — treatments that redirect cut-through traffic to other streets. Staff proposed requiring neighborhood support for resident-initiated diverters, using thresholds borrowed from the city's block-party rules: 51% support in single-family areas and 25% in multifamily areas. "I like to say it's diversion, not evaporation," Stoll said, noting the city would study where displaced trips go.
Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick pressed to ensure that diverters already contemplated in adopted greenway plans, including the Michigan Avenue and Washington Avenue corridors, could move forward without repeated approvals. "I would hate for us to say we want to do this thing, and then us to say, well, we can't actually do the thing we said we want to do unless another whole thing happens," he said. His motion directed staff to implement diverters on approved greenways to reach target traffic volumes.
Councilmembers attached several conditions. Mayor Caroline Torosis sought limits on how long camera images are retained and a bar on using them for facial recognition or sharing with outside agencies. Staff said non-violation images must be destroyed within five days under state law. Torosis also asked staff to study income-based payment plans. Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya questioned why only two intersections were planned; Stoll said the city wanted "a manageable pilot program to start with."
Councilmember Dan Hall thanked staff "for taking the direction we passed back in February and bringing it to life," while adding requests to study hardening bollards after a driver recently plowed through a row of them. Zwick, whose motion carried, proposed design-speed standards of 20 mph for most streets, 15 mph for greenways and 25 mph for some arterials.
Public comment ran heavily in favor. The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce backed expanding the delivery-robot program, and advocacy group Santa Monica Forward urged the council to "ensure staff has the direction, authority, and accountability necessary to use those tools aggressively." Some residents raised concerns; one asked how camera enforcement would apply to unlicensed cyclists and scooter riders.
Staff said it would return in coming months with the curb-management vendor, the roadway safety plan and the camera program's specifics before any citations are issued.