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City to reduce speed limit for Downtown
Photo by Albert Lee
The city is planning to reduce speed limits to 20 mph in some areas of the city, called “Regional Slow Zones,” and Lower Manhattan south of Canal will be the first implemented, taking effect by the end of this year or early next year. DOT will begin publicly notifying community boards on its proposals this summer.
The plan is a result of Sammy’s Law, state legislation was named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy who died in 2013 after he was hit by a driver in Park Slope. The law allows New York City to lower its speed limit to 20 mph with posted signage, except on roads with three or more travel lanes in the same direction outside of Manhattan. For all speed limit reductions, the city must provide notice 60 days in advance and comment opportunity to the local community board.
Beginning in September, DOT will also begin reducing speed limits in 250 other locations, with a focus on priority locations such as schools. The agency will also reduce the speed limit to 10 mph on all existing and future Shared Streets and on Open Streets that have had substantial design upgrades. In Manhattan, those are on Broadway between 18th and 50th streets.
See all the proposed locations here.
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I’m 100% on board for the goal of safer streets, but let’s be real: updated signage without either (1) enforcement or (2) appropriate infrastructure accomplishes close to zero in an urban environment like NYC.
The primary pedestrian safety concerns related to automobiles for those of us that live, work and play in lower Manhattan are straightforward: cars that turn too quickly (and without stopping) at intersections, cars that run red lighte, and cars that block crosswalks.
There are simple solutions to dealing with all of thee issues, including the installation of bulbouts, speed bumps, red light cameras, daylighting of crosswalks, and meaningful police enforcement. Given that NYPD is engaging in all of these risky driver behaviors on a regular basis themselves, I’m not holding my breath.