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NYC lowers West Side Highway speed limit

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Published  October 10, 2019 6:55pm EDT
Transportation
FOX 5 NY

NYC lowers speed limit along West Side Highway

On Thursday, New York City officials announced that the speed limit along the West Side Highway would be dropping from 35 to 30 miles per hour.

NEW YORK - On Thursday, New York City and the State of New York announced that the speed limit along the West Side Highway would be lowered from 35 to 30 miles per hour in order to create a safer roadway.

“If you as a pedestrian get hit by a car going 40 miles per hour, you have a 90 percent chance of that collision being fatal,” said New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “At 30 miles per hour, that number drops to 30 percent.”

Since 2013, there have been 10 fatalities along route 9A, a number officials hope to drop to zero.

“We have installed speed cameras, we are now lowering the speed limit from 35 to 30, we have done a lot of work to improve pedestrian crossings there,” said Trottenberg. 

The cameras will be set up from Battery Park to 59th Street.

“This is a huge win for our constituents along the west side of Manhattan,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman. 

There have been an average of 300 injuries among all street users, which the move aims to reduce, especially in light of all the ongoing projects on West Street.