New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the agency will start reducing speed limits in select areas following the enactment of Sammy’s Law.
Speed limit reductions will target select schools, open streets, shared streets and other areas, as well as create new regional slow zones in each borough, according to a news release.
Passed this legislative session in Albany, Sammy’s Law gives the city the authority to reduce speed limits to 20 miles per hour on individual streets, and to 10 mph on select streets undergoing safety-related redesigns.
NYC DOT will begin publicly notifying community boards on its proposals this summer, with a 60-day comment period to follow before implementation, the news release said.
Beginning in September, following a 60-day public comment period, NYC DOT will begin reducing speed limits in 250 locations by the end of 2025, with a focus on priority locations such as schools.
The agency will implement this safety measure utilizing safety data and focusing on equity, implementing speed limit reductions in Priority Investment Areas, defined as areas of the city with larger proportions of non-white and low-income residents, higher population and job density, and without a strong history of previous NYC DOT investments.
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. Shared streets are roadways with distinctive designs that naturally slow vehicle travel speeds, where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists all share the right of way.
“Speeding ruins lives, and reducing vehicle speeds by even a few miles per hour could be the difference between life or death in a traffic crash,” said Commissioner Rodriguez.
DOT will implement one regional slow zone in each borough where speed limits will be set at 20 mph throughout a set geographic area. The first location to be considered will be lower Manhattan, south of Canal Street, and would be implemented by the end of this year or early next year.
Initial Proposed Locations For Reduced Speeds (20 mph) in Brooklyn:
- Seventh Ave, 43 St to 44 St
- Dean St, Saratoga Ave to Thomas Boyland St
- MacDonough St, Lewis Ave, Marcus Garvey Blvd
- Christopher Ave, Sutter Ave to Belmont Ave
- Ashford St, Belmont Ave to Pitkin Ave
- Prospect Park West, Grand Army Plaza to Bartel Pritchard Square
- E 94 St, E New York Ave to Rutland Rd
- Fenimore St, Brooklyn Ave to Rutland Rd
- Ninth Ave, 63 St to 64 St
- 45 St, Fort Hamilton Pkway to Tenth Ave
- Lenox Rd, E 39 St to E 40 St
- E 96 St, Ave D to Foster Ave
- Sackman St, Belmont Ave to Sutter Ave
- Fort Greene Pl, Fulton St to Dekalb Ave
Initial Proposed 10 mph for Shared Streets in Brooklyn:
- Willoughby Ave, from Washington Park to Washington Ave
- Berry St, from Broadway to N12th St
- Underhill Ave, from Pacific St to Eastern Parkway
- Sharon St, from Olive St to Morgan Ave
- Lewis Ave, Hart St to Willoughby Ave
