NYC DOT Approves Speed Limit Decreases, Boro Park Street Included

By Matis Glenn

A street in Boro Park is on the list of dozens of streets which are set to see a speed limit decrease, the New York City Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Currently, the speed limit across New York City is 25 MPH, but under Sammy’s Law, a state measure passed in April, cities are permitted to further decrease their speed limits. The DOT plans on expanding the measure to include 250 streets by the end of next year.

Dozens of streets, among them 45th Street from Fort Hamilton Parkway to 10th Avenue in Boro Park, will see a change to 20 MPH under the new plan, and others, including Open Streets, will be lowered to 10 MPH in September following a 60-day public comment period. The DOT says it plans on targeting school zones, among other areas, for speed limit decreases.

According to state law, a minimum of 25 MPH limits must be placed on three-lane thoroughfares, like Ocean Parkway.

Sammy’s Law was named after Sammy Cohen-Eckstein, a child who was killed by a car outside of his Brooklyn home in 2013 after he went into the street to retrieve a ball.

“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,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. “The new Regional Slow Zones and other speed limit reductions announced today will save lives and keep people safe.”  

In addition to school zones, the DOT will also implement the changes in “Priority Investment Areas,” which it defines 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.”

Aside from purchasing signs stating the speed limit changes and recalibrating speed cameras, it is not clear what investments the city will have to make in order to implement the changes.

Residents had mixed reactions to the changes.

“Lower income people will suffer the most under these speed limit changes, because tickets are expensive, easily dolled out by cameras, and drivers naturally gravitate towards driving between 25 and 30 MPH when there’s no traffic,” Nesanel, a Midwood driver told Hamodia. “When people can’t afford to pay these tickets, they snowball with added fees, until the driver, who might depend on his vehicle for income, faces booting or impounding, which of course he is charged for,” he continued.

“I feel it’s good and bad” Ari, of Boro Park told Hamodia. “On the one hand, after the recent tragic incident in Boro Park where a man was killed in a hit-and-run accident, it puts thing into perspective. Especially with children playing outside in the summer, one can never be too cautious.

“On the other hand, time is Torah. With our already packed schedules trying to fit everything in, having to drive even more slowly than we already do, means more time spent on the streets. However, this could be utilized as extra minutes to listen to a shiur.”

Below is a full list of streets that will see a speed limit decrease in September under the proposed plan:

Streets with speed limits slated to be decreased from 25 MPH to 20 MPH:

The Bronx  

1. E 139 Street, from Willis Avenue to Alexander Avenue   
2. Courtlandt Ave, E 156 St to E 157 St  
3. E 151 St, Courtlandt Ave to Morris Ave  
4. E 156 St, Concourse Village W to Morris Ave  
5. Gerard Ave, E 167 St to E 168 St  
6. St Ann’s Ave, E 149 St to Westchester Ave  
7. Tinton Ave, E 150 St to E 152 St  
8. Sheridan Ave, E 171 St to E 172 St  
9. Walton Ave, E 179 St to E 171 St  
10. Prospect Ave, E 175 St to E Tremont Ave  
11. Wallace Ave, Mace Ave to Waring Ave  
12. E 225 St, White Plains Rd to Barnes Ave
13. E 172 St, St Lawrence Ave to Beach Ave  
14. Netherland Ave, Kappock St to W 227 St   
15. Reeds Mill Ln, Bivona St to Steenwich Ave  

Brooklyn  

1. Seventh Ave, 43 St to 44 St   
2. Dean St, Saratoga Ave to Thomas Boyland St  
3. MacDonough St, Lewis Ave, Marcus Garvey Blvd  
4. Christopher Ave, Sutter Ave to Belmont Ave  
5. Ashford St, Belmont Ave to Pitkin Ave  
6. Prospect Park West, Grand Army Plaza to Bartel Pritchard Square  
7. E 94 St, E New York Ave to Rutland Rd  
8. Fenimore St, Brooklyn Ave to Rutland Rd  
9. Ninth Ave, 63 St to 64 St  
10. 45 St, Fort Hamilton Pkway to Tenth Ave  
11. Lenox Rd, E 39 St to E 40 St  
12. E 96 St, Ave D to Foster Ave  
13. Sackman St, Belmont Ave to Sutter Ave  
14. Fort Greene Pl, Fulton St to Dekalb Ave  
15. Lewis Ave, Hart St to Willoughby Ave  

Manhattan  

1. W 138 St, Amsterdam Ave to Broadway  
2. W 64 Street, West End Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue  
3. E 120 St, Lexington Ave to Third Ave  
4. E 128 St, Lexington Ave to Third Ave  
5. Morningside Ave, W 126 St to W 127 St  
6. Audubon Avenue, West 165th Street to Fort George Avenue  
7. E 112 St, Second Ave to Third Ave   
8. E 120 St, Second Ave to Third Ave   
9. E 120 St, Madison Ave to Park Ave   
10. E 128 St, Madison Ave to Park Ave   

Queens  

1. 112 St, 37 Ave to 34 Ave   
2. 47 Ave, 108 St to 111 St   
3. 155 St, 108 Ave to 109 Ave  
4. 167 St, 108 Rd to 109 Ave   
5. Union Hall St ,109 Ave to 110 Ave   
6. 144 St, 88 Ave to 88 Rd   
7. 143 St, Linden Blvd to 115 Ave   
8. 105 St, 35 Ave to 37 Ave  
9. 31 Ave, 60 St to 61 St  

Streets to be lowered to 10 MPH:

The Bronx  

1. Jennings St, Bronx from Prospect Ave to Bristow St (to be redesigned later this summer)  

Brooklyn  

1. Willoughby Ave, from Washington Park to Washington Ave  
2. Berry St, from Broadway to N12th St  
3. Underhill Ave, from Pacific St to Eastern Parkway  
4. Sharon St, from Olive St to Morgan Ave  

Manhattan  

Broadway, from:  

1. 18 St to 23 St  
2. 24 St to 25 St  
3. 27 St to 33 St  
4. 38 St to 39 St  
5. 48 St to 50 St  

Queens  

34^th Avenue, from:  

1. 69 St to 77 St  
2. 78 St to 93 St  

94 St to Junction Blvd