DOT Seeks Spot for 20 MPH Zone

Slow it down!

One small section of Northeast Queens may be designated a 20-mile per hour zone.

The speed limit at most places in the City is 30mph. 

The DOT already has 20mph spots near some schools, and now they would like to pilot a similar program in one micro-neighborhood, spanning one or a few blocks, in each of the outer-boroughs.

The program, which has not yet officially been announced, was mentioned at yesterday’s Community District Education Council 26 meeting by Kim Wiley -Schwartz, the Asst. Commissioner for Education and Outreach for the DOT.

The slow zones, she said, would be off arterial roads, and would only be chosen if the community expresses a desire to try out the new traffic rule.

Northeast Queens, Wiley-Schwartz said, would be a good location for the experiment because of its large populations of both seniors and young kids. The DOT has unique safety concerns for both groups.

A high reliance on cars over public transportation would be an asset to her choice of neighborhood.

Indicating a divergence in thinking with her colleauge, DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy, who was also at the meeting, had different communities in mind.

Southeast Queens, the Rockaways and Ozone Park—all high density neighborhoods—have the right conditions to be an incubator for the pilot, she said.

“This is not that neighborhood, but this may be the only neighborhood that volunteers,” said McCarthy.