CLINTON HILL — The city's Department of Transportation is warning drivers on Park Avenue in Clinton Hill to take the pedal off the metal.
An electronic sign was recently placed on the busy thoroughfare telling motorists to "slow down." And if a passing driver goes above the 30 mph speed limit, an image of a skeleton appears, warning drivers of what might happen if they don't obey the law.
“Speeding is a menace that endangers everyone on our streets, and it is particularly deadly for pedestrians,” DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said in a statement. “These speed boards deliver the equally chilling message that speeding kills and slowing down can save lives.”
The skeleton sign is part of DOT's "That’s Why It’s 30” anti-speeding safety campaign and was installed on Park Avenue at the request of The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership.
The local group has been working to slow traffic on Park Avenue since 2009 and finished the Park Avenue Pedestrian Safety Plan last year. The plan proposes to retime safety lights, increase NYPD enforcement of the speed limit and add new streetlights.
From 1995 to 2009, there were 96 crashes with injuries on Park Avenue between Navy Street and Grand Avenue, according to Transportation Alternatives.
Earlier this year, a 13-year-old boy was hit by a cargo van while crossing the busy street and was treated for head trauma.
The skeleton sign will remain on Park Avenue for one month before it is moved to a new location.
