By Jorge Casuso

April 21, 2026 -- The City Council last week gave the go-ahead to modify a contract to process citations for an automated bike lane enforcement program expected to launch in July.

The $120,000 increase to the $13.52 million, nine-year contract with Modaxo Traffic Management USA, Inc. is part of an ongoing effort to curb serious accidents involving bicyclists and pedestrians.

During the last fiscal year, the company processed 220,000 parking citations -- about 603 per day -- that generated $10.9 million in General Fund revenues, staff said

Modaxo also processed 90,000 residential and recreational parking permits that generated a combined $3.8 million in General Fund and Beach Recreation Fund revenues.

The $120,000 increase will pay for processing and payment services for parking citations issued during the automated bike lane enforcement program, which was not anticipated when the contract with Modaxo went into effect in June 2020.

Launched upon Council approval in January, the program uses cameras mounted on seven City parking enforcement vehicles "to capture videos of illegal parking events in bike-only zones as evidence for automated citations," staff said.

The automated activities "require technology and a workflow to review and issue citations and to collect fines and any late fees."

Following a mandatory 60-day warning period, which is "currently on track" to start next month, the City is scheduled to begin issuing citations in July, according to the staff report.

The program is being launched after a 45-day pilot conducted with two parking enforcement vehicles recorded 1,679 events last May and June.

Of those, 263 events "were adjudicated as causing the greatest risk to road users due to the extent the vehicles blocked the bike lane," staff wrote.

"The pilot results suggested that an automated bike lane enforcement program would offer safety and quality-of-life benefits to all road users."

The program was first approved in the City's FY2025-27 biennial budget and comes as the number of Fatal and Severe Injury (FSI) crashes in Santa Monica has reached record levels.

There were 52 FSI crashes in the city last year, the second-highest number recorded over the past 15 years after soaring to a record high 62 crashes in 2024 ("Fatal, Severe Injury Crashes Fall," March 6, 2026).

The FSI crashes last year resulted in three deaths, all of them pedestrians, according to data provided by the Transportation Department.

Of the crashes resulting in severe injuries, 19 involved pedestrians, 5 involved bicyclists and 3 involved scooters. The other 23 severe injury crashes involved only motorists.