Speed limits on city streets with higher-than-average car accident numbers are being reduced as part of Mayor de Blassio’s Vision Zero initiative. The Grand Concourse in the Bronx will be the city’s second street to have its speed limit reduced as part of the program. The first was Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
The speed limit on the Grand Concourse will go from 30 MPH to 25 MPH as a result of the stepped-up effort to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities in New York City.
According to reporting by CBS News, the Grand Concourse was the site of 12 fatalities that included seven pedestrian deaths between 2008 and 2012. Bronx City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said, “It is a shame that we live in a city where the first cause of death for children under 14 is car crash accidents.” .
What’s going to happen as a result of the lower speed limit? City officials say they will have signs along the roadway announcing the changed speed limit. Enforcement will also include pedestrian awareness efforts targeting walkers who are texting, listening to headphones or are otherwise inattentive.
The term used to describe the new traffic laws on the Grand Concourse, Atlantic Avenue and other streets that will receive the same attention is “slow zone.” Traffic lights will be recalibrated so they are in time with the slower speed along the route of the street that runs for more than five miles through the Bronx. An additional 23 slow zones will be implemented during 2014.
Vision Zero is Mayor de Blassio’s program to eliminate traffic fatalities. Strategies include slow zones such as those on Atlantic Avenue and the Grand Concourse as well as a variety of traffic calming devices.
Source: CBS News, “Slow Zone Coming To Grand Concourse In The Bronx As Part Of ‘Vision Zero’ Traffic Safety Plan,” Apr. 17, 2014.