MOTORISTS are being warned after a city received approval to reduce its speed limits on some of its most popular streets.
Some streets will reduce limits to 10 mph under the new highway law, a speed normally reserved for parking lots.
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New York state lawmakers passed Sammy’s Law in April. The legislation allows New York City officials to lower speed limits in densely populated areas without receiving state approval.
Authorities named the law after Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy who was struck by a speeding vehicle in Brooklyn in 2012.
Eckstein died after the violent accident.
“He was killed in front of our building. We have a crisis on our roads,” said his mother, Amy Cohen. WPIX.
“Almost every day in New York City, someone like my son is killed.”
The city’s Department of Transportation, or DOT, is preparing to hold a public comment period after announcing 250 streets with speeds to be reduced.
The speed limit changes will likely come into effect in September.
Authorities hope drivers will increase safety on city streets by driving at slower speeds.
“Speeding destroys lives and slowing vehicles even by a few miles per hour can be the difference between life or death in a traffic accident,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez said in a statement.
“[The] The speed limit reductions announced today will save lives and keep people safe.”
The city fines drivers between $90 and $600, according to TrafficTickets.com.
Several streets in four neighborhoods of the city must reduce speed.
No streets on Staten Island were listed in the initial public comment period.
Most streets are reducing legal maximum speeds from 40 km/h to 32 km/h.
Some of the most popular streets are reducing speeds to 10 mph.
New York streets must slow down
Here is a list of streets where drivers can expect new 10 mph speed limits:
The Bronx:
- Jennings St, Bronx from Prospect Ave to Bristow St
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
Manhattan:
- Broadway, from: 18 St to 23 St; 24th Street to 25th Street; 27th to 33rd Street; 38th Street to 39th Street; 48 St to 50 St
Queens:
- 34th Avenue, from: 69 St to 77 St; 78th Street to 93rd Street; 94 St to Junction Blvd
Nexstar New York Affiliate WPIX-TV.
Most streets facing speed reductions are considered “Priority Investment Areas,” according to DOT officials.
Most streets are near schools, in areas that have historically low DOT investment, and are densely populated.
The city also hopes to implement “Regional Slow Zones” in larger areas of the city.
The zones would lower speed limits across a larger part of the city, officials said.
Streets south of Manhattan’s Canal Street are one of the zones’ target areas.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
