NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced Wednesday that the agency has begun reducing the speed limit in selected locations following the enactment of Sammy’s Law.
The first corridor to see reduced speed limits is Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, where the NYC DOT has installed 20 mph speed limit signs on a 19-block stretch, from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard Square.
“A driver’s speed can mean the difference between life and death in a traffic accident, so the speed limit reductions we are implementing will help protect everyone sharing our busy streets,” Rodríguez said. “I want to thank Amy Cohen Eckstein and the entire Sammy family for their hard work to give New York City the legal authority we needed to increase speed limits We would not be here today, honoring his son’s memory and preventing other families from experiencing the same pain of losing a loved one to traffic violence.”
The agency will soon implement a Regional Slow Zone in Lower Manhattan and will also reduce the speed limit on a 1.4 mile stretch of Audubon Avenue in northern Manhattan.
By the end of 2025, NYC DOT will reduce speed limits in 250 locations, prioritizing areas such as schools, open streets, shared streets, and new Regional Slow Zones in each neighborhood.
The speed limit reductions to be made by NYC DOT are focused on equity, and speed reductions will be prioritized in Priority Investment Areas (PIAs), neighborhoods with higher proportions of non-white and low-income residents , higher population density and employment, and has historically lacked significant investments from the NYC DOT.
“Yesterday marked 11 years since my 12-year-old son was hit and killed here in Prospect Park West,” said Gary Eckstein, a member of Families for Safe Streets and Sammy Cohen Eckstein’s father, in honor of the project named. “Had traffic been slower, Sammy and the truck driver would have had more time to see each other and avoid an accident. Together with the members and friends of Families for Safe Streets, we were fought hard to pass Sammy’s law in Albany, so the DOT We could lower the speed limit on city streets.
The location of Wednesday’s incident, Prospect Park West and Third Street, is the intersection where 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein was tragically struck and killed by a driver in October 2013. The tragic accident inspired the creation of Families for Safe Streets , as in addition to the state law named in Sammy’s honor that was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year.
The New York City Department of Transportation will reduce speed limits to 10 MPH on all current and future shared streets, as well as open streets that have undergone major design improvements. Shared streets have a unique road design that naturally slows vehicular traffic, ensuring a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Additional speed limit reductions planned
In October, the New York City Department of Transportation will also begin enforcing a 20 mph speed limit on Audubon Avenue in Washington Heights, Manhattan, on a 1.4 mile stretch from West 165th Street to Fort George Avenue.
The agency is also establishing a Regional Slow Zone in each area, with speed limits set at 20 MPH in all designated areas. The New York City Department of Transportation is working to launch the first Regional Slow Zone in Manhattan, in the area of the island south of Canal Street, with implementation expected to begin in October.
The New York City Department of Transportation plans to prioritize the implementation of lower speed limits in 60 additional locations by the end of the year, including 10 mph limits on 13 open and shared streets, and limits 15 miles per hour in 47 slow schools. Zones, across the city.
“By allowing lower speed limits, Sammy’s Law affirms New York City’s right and responsibility to keep our streets safe for our neighbors,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “I am especially grateful that the New York City Department of Transportation chose one of Brooklyn’s most popular public spaces as the first place to implement a 20 mph speed limit for us to apply to keep us safe.”
Additional Vision Zero security work
The agency plans to meet the administration’s goal of adding daylight to 1,000 locations by 2024. Daylight improves visibility at intersections by removing nearby obstructions. , such as parked vehicles, to make it easier for drivers to see pedestrians and other users.
After extensive advocacy by the New York City Department of Transportation and the city, in early June of this year, the New York State Legislature approved the renewal and expansion of the city’s red light camera program, which allowed it to grow from 150 to 600 between -cut. This quadrant of the program will enable the New York City Department of Transportation to develop a proven safety tool that has resulted, on average, in a 73 percent reduction in red light failures, a 65 percent reduction in right-angle crashes or T Injuries and a 49 percent reduction in rear-end crashes. The Department of Transportation is seeking applications to operate the automatic compliance programs. The agency will begin expanding its red light camera operation when a new contract is signed in 2025.
After achieving increased production of bike lanes and pedestrian protection areas over the past two years, the New York City Department of Transportation continues to implement bike, bus and freight safety improvements -new and exciting walking throughout the city, including wider bike lanes to provide better space for cyclists and greater use of legal electric mobility devices.
“Sammy’s Law is a hard-hitting and simple but powerful way to reduce traffic violence and protect the most vulnerable road users. Legal speed limits are a critical first step in our effort to build safer streets in New York,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “Neighborhoods where DOT lowers speeds will soon be much safer. “
2024-10-10 03:05:00
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