HEY, NYC SLOW IT DOWN!
Lowering speed limits
Lower speed limits are coming to 10 thoroughfares in the city amid surging pedestrian deaths, Mayor de Blasio said Monday.
The 45 miles of roadways across the city will see speed limits drop anywhere from 5 to 10 mph, de Blasio said at a press briefing.
“We’ve done this over the years. It’s worked,” Hizzoner said. “I know some people gripe about it. I respect the concerns
— but this is about safety, this is about saving lives.”
The de Blasio administration last lowered speed limits in September, as empty roads led to a surge in speeding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With pedestrian deaths up 58 percent so far in 2021, this month’s changes will be focused “on the areas where we’ve seen the most crashes,” the mayor said.
In The Bronx, speed limits on parts of Pelham Parkway, Jerome Avenue and the Throgs Neck Expressway service road will drop from 30 to 25 mph, the city said.
In Queens, sections of Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard will see their speed limits cut by 5 mph, as will Astoria Boulevard from 111th Street to Eighth Street and Conduit Avenue from Sutter Avenue to Sunrise Highway.
In Brooklyn, Conduit Boulevard south of Atlantic Avenue will get slashed by 5 mph, to 30 mph. In Staten Island, officials plan to convert 13.5 miles of Hylan Boulevard to 30 mph.
The proposed changes outraged Councilman Joe Borelli (R-SI), who tweeted that the reductions of as much as 10 mph coming to his borough were “absurd and unnecessary.”
“DOT [Department of Transportation] didn’t consult with anyone elected to actually represent this area,” Borelli said in a statement to the Staten Island Advance. “It’s as though the mayor said, ‘How can we make people’s lives less convenient?’ ”
De Blasio said the speed-limit reductions would be coupled with an NYPD traffic-enforcement blitz, and reiterated his plea for Albany to pass legislation known as the “Crash Victim Bill of Rights,” which, among other things, would allow city speed cameras to operate 24/7.
The cameras currently operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. A single camera ticket carries a $50 fine.