Brooklyn City Council members David Greenfield and Mark Treyger are urging Mayor de Blasio to reconsider his lowering the Ocean Parkway speed limit from its current 25 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour.
The important auto thoroughfare runs through both council members districts from the Brighton Beach/Coney Island Boardwalk to the Prospect Expressway in Kensington. The parkway is heavily trafficked since there are no parallel roads of similar capacity, and it has pedestrian use as both sides of the busy road surface is lined with benches, trees, chess tables and a walking/bicycle path.
In November, de Blasio signed legislation that lowered the default speed limit citywide from 30 mph to 25 mph as part of his Vision Zero initiative aimed to reduce traffic fatalities citywide. However, the expectation was that major through-routes like Ocean Parkway and the Gowanus Expressway would remain at their previous speed limits since a higher speed is necessary to carry traffic smoothly.
“I am proud to have co-sponsored legislation that reduced the default speed limit citywide to ensure the safety of every New Yorker. However, we were promised that major thoroughfares like Ocean Parkway would not be reduced without the input of the local community. We very clearly told the Department of Transportation that Ocean Parkway is not an appropriate street for 25 miles per hour,” said Greenfield.
Greenfield said applying the 25 mile per hour speed limit on Ocean Parkway will actually do more harm than good because it will increase traffic and force drivers onto the surrounding narrow residential streets.
“Already, Waze – the traffic app – is advising drivers to avoid portions of Ocean Parkway and use local streets instead,” he said.
Treyger said he too supports de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, but that major thoroughfares like Ocean Parkway play a big role in moving high volumes of traffic as efficiently as possible.
“I am concerned that this lower speed limit will only serve to increase traffic on this extremely busy street without having a real impact on pedestrian safety. This will result in drivers searching for alternate routes through the neighborhoods surrounding Ocean Parkway, which will unnecessarily jeopardize the safety of residents in those areas,” said Treyger.
“I am proud to support Vision Zero and the lower speed limit in appropriate areas where it will protect the public, but I do not believe that Ocean Parkway meets this criteria,” the lawmaker added.
Greenfield and Treyger said many residents are also concerned that the 25 miles per hour speed limits is impractical and will be used to earn revenue via speed-cameras.
