NYC could lower speed limit to 20 mph on some streets
'Sammy's Law' brings 20 mph limit to city streets
Drivers will now have to reduce their speed to 20 mph in certain parts of the city. The change is possible thanks to "Sammy's Law" in memory of a 12-year-old boy who was killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn more than 10 years ago. FOX 5 NY's Michelle Ross has more on where these slowdowns are taking place.
NEW YORK CITY - The NYC DOT has begun to reduce speed limits in select locations following the enactment of Sammy's Law.
Here's where the speed limits will be reduced in our area:
Traffic on Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive in New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Bookings for domestic travel over the US Labor Day weekend are up 9% from last year, according to motor club AAA. Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via
The first area to have reduced speed limits is Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, where NYC DOT has placed new 20-mile-per-hour speed limit signs along a 19-block stretch from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard Square.
The NYC DOT will soon implement a Regional Slow Zone in Lower Manhattan and also reduce the speed limit along a 1.4-mile stretch of Audubon Avenue in Northern Manhattan.
What is the goal of Sammy's Law?
The goal is for the NYC DOT to lower speed limits in 250 locations, prioritizing areas such as schools, Open Streets, Shared Streets, and new Regional Slow Zones in each borough by the end of 2025.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 6: Police officers watch traffic at Times Square on September 6, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jenn Moreno/VIEWpress)
"A driver’s speed can mean the difference between life and death in a traffic crash, so the speed limit reductions we are making will help protect everyone who shares our busy streets," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.
What is Sammy's Law?
Sammy's Law was inspired by a 12-year-old boy, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013 in Prospect Park.
The law allows the city to lower its speed limit from the current 25 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour or 10 wherever necessary.
The areas include select schools, Open Streets, Shared Streets, and designated "Regional Slow Zones" in each borough.
"Yesterday marked 11 years since my 12-year-old son was run over and killed right here on Prospect Park West," said Families for Safe Streets member Gary Eckstein and father of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, for whom the bill is named. "If traffic had been moving more slowly, Sammy and the driver of the van would have had more time to see each other and avoid a collision. Together with the members and allies of Families for Safe Streets, we fought hard to win Sammy’s Law in Albany, so that DOT could reduce the speed limit on city streets."
Sammy's Law was passed in Albany back in April.