Legislation passed by state Senate could lower the speed limit in New York City.
Introduced by Sen. Jeffrey Klein, a Democrat from Bronx, the bill allows the city to lower its default speed limit to 25 mph from 30 mph. The bill is expected by be signed by Gov. Cuomo, which can then be put into effect 90 days later.
This is a rare, since the trend in recent years has been for states to increase speed limits, rather than decrease speed limits, according to traffic experts. Although some cities including Baton Rouge and Portland as well as Columbia have passed ordinances to reduce speed limits.
In support of the bill, Sherif Soliman, the city’s director of state legislative affairs released a memorandum that said, “a vehicle striking a pedestrian at 25 mph has a 10% chance of being killed, while at 30 mph the death rate rises to 20%.
“Speeding causes more fatalities than drunk drivers and drivers on cell phones combined,” said Executive Director Paul White of Transportation Alternatives, a group pushing for the speed reduction.
You can read more about the bill in its entirety here.
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