New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is moving to lower the speed limit around hundreds of schools across the five boroughs as part of a major escalation of the Vision Zero initiative.
The goal is to have every school in a 15 mph slow zone over the next three years.
All NYC schools should have 15 mph zones by end of 2029
With a few taps of a hammer, a sign went up outside Flushing International High School on Monday, making it the first to see the speed limit reduced. In all, 800 schools will become slow zones, with the speed lowered from 20 or 25 mph by the end of the year. All 2,300 schools will be part of slow zones by the end of 2029.
“Our Department of Transportation is working to slow vehicles and improve pedestrian safety around the most dangerous locations near schools by upgrading intersection design and incorporating speed bumps so every child can get to class safe,” Mamdani said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants 15 mph speed limits in all New York City school zones by the end of 2029.
CBS News New York
The move is an expansion of Sammy’s Law, named after 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was killed by a driver in 2013.
“Changing the speed limits [to] 15 mph will make a huge difference”
Parents who have lost loved ones say pedestrians struck by a car traveling 25 mph are three times more likely to suffer serious injuries than if they’re hit by a car going 15 mph.
Amy Tam-Liao’s 3-year-old daughter was killed in a traffic accident.
“Changing the speed limits [to] 15 mph will make a huge difference. It’ll make our streets safer. It is proven that the slower drivers drive and if they can, their reflexes are faster to stop the car,” Tam-Liao said.
“Personally, it means that more lives will be saved [in] New York’s districts. Families won’t have to be at home and get the devastated [news] I got or found out that my daughter was in the morgue,” Julia Williams added.
“We have to learn how to share the road more responsibly”
Drivers have mixed feelings, with some saying 15 mph in school zones is too slow.
“I’m sure that there will be drivers who are going to be upset about this announcement, and so, to drivers, we are the most protected on the road and we cause the most damage and most hurt. So we have to learn how to share the road more responsibly,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
“I agree with it. You got to see if you have the kids overall to be definitely slower and then you put more cameras,” another said.
“I think it’s a good thing,” another added.