Politics & Government
Prospect Heights Getting 'Slow Zone' in 2016
Traffic calming program expanding to 15 city neighborhoods.
Prospect Heights is one of five Brooklyn neighborhoods included in the expansion of New York City's "slow zone" program, which will roll out over the next three years.
According to a release from the Department of Transportation, Prospect Heights was one of 15 neighborhoods selected — out of 74 applicants — for the city's new "slow zone" program.
The program, which began in the Bronx in 2011, expanded to 13 neighborhoods in 2012 and will begin to expand again in 2014. It is a traffic-calming measure that reduces speeds on problematic blocks from 30 miles per hour to 20, and adds speed humps.
"Speeding is the single greatest contributing factor in traffic fatalities in our city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Slow Zones have shown proven results in curbing dangerous driving and we want more neighborhoods to benefit from the program."
Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan credited the program with reducing the number of pedestrian fatalties in the city over the last three years.
Streets with senior centers and schools are given priority during the selection process.
In 2014 Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy will be added to the program, along with Crown Heights in 2015 and Prospect Heights in 2016.
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