Some of the city’s most dangerous streets are receiving speed boards that advise drivers to slow down when exceeding the 30 miles per hour speed limit.
Last week the city Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the extension of its speed board program and unveiled a new sign that displays an image of a skeleton and the words “slow down” when it detects vehicles travelling above the speed limit.
The new boards are located at Hillside Avenue between 248th and 249th streets and Utopia Parkway between 67th and Peck avenues in Queens; Beverly Road between East 28th and East 29th streets and Dahill Road between 52nd and 53rd streets in Brooklyn; and Hylan Boulevard between Buffalo Street and Chesterton Avenue in Staten Island.
Traditional speed boards that display a vehicle’s speed are currently located at Linden Boulevard between Warwick and Jerome streets in Brooklyn; Targee Street between Venice Street and Clove Road and Mosel Avenue between Osgood Avenue and Manton Place in Staten Island; Webster Avenue between 194th Street and Bedford Park Boulevard and and Hutchinson River Parkway East between Wilkinson and St. Paul avenues in the Bronx; and Fifth Avenue between 132nd and 135th streets in Manhattan.
According to the DOT, locations for the speed boards are selected based on speed-observation studies. For example, the department found that 82 percent of drivers break the speed limit on Hillside Avenue.
“Speed limits create safer streets by reducing deadly driving,” DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said. “Over half of New Yorkers don’t know the city’s speed limit and these speed boards are an instant reminder to slow down and save lives.”
Speed boards will continue to rotate each month to other dangerous roads targeted by the DOT. In Queens, the new skeleton boards will appear at 172nd Street between 107th and Liberty avenues and North Conduit Avenue between Sutter Avenue and 76th Street.
In an effort to curb pedestrian fatalities and traffic incidents, the DOT has invested heavily in a “That’s Why It’s 30” advertising campaign. According to statistics, a pedestrian struck by a car traveling 40 miles per hour or faster has a 70 percent chance of death. Meanwhile, a pedestrian struck at 30 miles per hour has an 80 percent chance of surviving the crash.
Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour on all streets.
By Eric Yun
