New York City may be able to decide its own speed limits, thanks to a new bill sponsored by State Senator Malave Dilan of Bushwick. A previous bill, which sought to reduce the speed limit to 20MPH on residential streets throughout the city, was withdrawn from City Council when it became clear that regulations in Albany would tie it up. The new legislation aims to keep that from happening again. “By giving the New York City Council the ability to reduce the speed limit by 10 miles per hour, pedestrian safety in the city will vastly improve,” said Dilan in a statement.
The safe streets advocacy group Right of Way applauded the bill. “A pedestrian’s chances of surviving being hit by a vehicle are doubled if the driver is going 20mph instead of 30,” said Charles Komanoff of Right of Way. “We’re talking about saving dozens of lives every year.”
(Photo: Liz Patek)
