Slow Zones

Neighborhood Slow Zones and Safer Local Streets

On Saturday, Jan. 21, the Park Slope Civic Council invited the community to a meeting to learn about neighborhood slow zones, a community-based program from the city's Department of Transportation that reduces the speed limit to 20 mph (down from 30 mph, the citywide speed limit) within a select area and adds safety measures to change driver behavior and help improve safety.
 

Nearly 100 people turned out at Congregation Beth Elohim on what was a very snowy morning. State Senator Eric Adams, City Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer spoke. Participants viewed a presentation on the slow zone in the Claremont section of the Bronx, the city's first such zone; and a short film featuring Senator Adams and Rod King, founder of the British campaign 20's Plenty for Us, walking with a handful of Park Slope residents and discussing the evolution of the program in the United Kingdom. The meeting concluded with a Q and A with attendees, moderated by Daniel Murphy, executive director of the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District. (Read the winter issue of Civic News for more details about the meeting.)

The meeting was co-sponsored by City Councilmembers Letitia James, Brad Lander, and Stephen Levin; Congregation Beth Elohim; P.S. 10; the Parents Association of Millennium Brooklyn High School; Park Slope Neighbors; Park Slope Parents; and the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council.

We've collected some important documents -- from the Civic Council, the DOT, and elsewhere -- and key links so you can learn more about neighborhood slow zones and the "20 Is Plenty" campaign. Be sure to return to this page for updates in the near future, or sign up for e-mail updates from our homepage.

Documents:

• The joint application for a Park Slope slow zone, from the Park Slope Civic Council and Park Slope Neighbors
• Slow Zones presentation by the Civic Council and the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council
• NYCDOT Neighborhood Slow Zones Pilot Study
  
• The New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan
  
• The NYC Street Design Manual
  
• Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Primer
  

Important external links:

• About neighborhood slow zones, from the New York City Department of Transportation
• Film of Senator Adams, Rod King, and others discussing "20 Is Plenty" (from Streetsblog)
• 20's Plenty for Us, United Kingdom
• Hoboken Tells Drivers: “Twenty is Plenty”
• Neighborhood Slow Zone Opens in Claremont, Perhaps the First of Many  (from Streetsblog)
• "AA [Automobile Association] supports 20mph limit in boost for cycle safety," The Times (UK), Feb. 6
• E-mail us at slowzones@parkslopeciviccouncil.org.