Speed limits lowered on 6 Queens roadways
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Stretches of six streets in Queens had their speed limits cut on Monday, May 10, 2021. Photo via NYC Department of Transportation/Twitter
By Jacob Kaye
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced speed limit reductions on six major streets in Queens on Monday, May 10.
The attempt to slow down drivers comes during a year that’s on pace to become one of the deadliest for pedestrians and cyclists on New York City streets since the launch of the mayor’s Vision Zero initiative in 2014.
In total, over 25 miles of the borough’s roadways, all of which were identified by the city as “high crash corridors,” will see speed limits slashed by at least 5 mph beginning this week.
“Telling drivers to slow down – and working closely with the NYPD to hold dangerous drivers accountable – will save lives and make our city safer,” de Blasio said.
The speed limit on Woodhaven Boulevard from Queens to Rockaway Boulevards will drop from 30 to 25 mph, the max speed allowed on most city streets. Cross Bay Boulevard from Rockaway Boulevard to the Cross Bay North Boulevard Bridge will see a speed reduction from 30/40 to 25/35 mph.
The top speed on both the Van Wyck Service Road from 135th Avenue to Queens Boulevard and Astoria Boulevard from 111th to 8th Streets will be reduced from 30 to 25 mph. On both South Conduit and North Conduit Avenues, between Sutter Avenue and Sunrise Highway, the speed limit will drop from 35 to 30 mph.
A Department of Transportation map outlining the city roadways seeing a decrease in speed limit this week. Photo via NYC Department of Transportation/Twitter
The NYPD will immediately begin to step up enforcement, placing officers from the Transportation Bureau and additional patrols in some of the intersections where pedestrian and cyclist injuries are the most common, according to de Blasio.
The mayor also announced that a special emphasis will be put on issuing summonses to drivers who’ve parked their car inside a bike lane, forcing cyclists to merge into traffic.
The speed reductions aren’t limited to Queens alone. In all, 45 miles of city streets will see a drop in the speed limit this week.
The move to slow down drivers comes after a perilous month for pedestrians and cyclists in New York City. Citywide, 25 New Yorkers were killed in car crashes in April 2021, the most fatalities in the month of April since 2014, according to data collected by Transportation Alternatives.
In Queens alone, 99 pedestrians and 60 cyclists were injured in car crashes in April, NYPD data shows.
On April 29, delivery driver Xing Long Lin was killed in Astoria when a 60-year-old woman, who was allegedly driving over the speed limit, crashed into him in her attempt to pass another car.
Just days prior, Police Officer Anastasios Tsakos died after being struck by an alleged drunk and speeding driver on the Long Island Expressway in Fresh Meadows, according to the authorities.
This week’s move to get drivers to slow down was celebrated by safe streets activists across the city, including those at Transportation Alternatives.
“Slower speeds save lives,” said Danny Harris, Transportation Alternatives’ executive director. “Lowering speeds across 45 miles of streets is an important tool for Vision Zero, and will be even more effective when coupled with physical redesigns of streets and automated enforcement.”
