BRONX — Gun Hill Road and part of Southern Boulevard are set to become Arterial Slow Zones under the city's plan to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities in the city.
Officials from the Department of Transportation confirmed at a meeting on Tuesday that Gun Hill Road would be the next Arterial Slow Zone in The Bronx, following Grand Concourse. The agency expects the change, with the speed limit dropping from 30 to 25 mph, to take place this month.
The city also is looking to make four miles of Southern Boulevard stretching between East Fordham Road and Bruckner Boulevard a slow zone. There have been three fatalities in this area since 2008, and the DOT plans for the shift to happen in July.
Arterial Slow Zones are a component of Vision Zero, a plan by the city to end traffic deaths and injuries. They include a combination of increased police enforcement and improved signal timing to help discourage speeding and make traffic flow more predictable.
Three miles of East Gun Hill Road, stretching from Jerome Avenue to the Thruway, would be impacted by the shift. Since 2008, this section of the street has seen four fatalities.
Barbara Guzman, an administrative assistant at the School of Saint Ann near East Gun Hill Road, was pleased to hear about the city's plans to lower the speed limit.
She said a son of one of the school's employees was hit by a car trying to cross the street a few years ago. He has recovered since then, but she still felt that making Gun Hill Road a slow zone would be a good idea due to the nearby school and the large amount of senior citizens in the neighborhood. Montefiore Children's Hospital is located close to East Gun Hill Road as well.
"I think that's great," Guzman said.
The city announced on April 17 that 5.2 miles of Grand Concourse, stretching from East 140th Street to Moshulu Parkway, would become the first Arterial Slow Zone in the Bronx.
Other anticipated Arterial Slow Zones include Broadway from Columbus Circle to West 220th Street in Manhattan, Eastern Parkway from Plaza Street East to Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn and Rockaway Boulevard from 75th Street to Farmers Boulevard in Queens.
