NEW YORK—The city committed to installing speed bumps on a minimum of 50 streets adjacent to public and private schools every year.
The council voted to pass the legislation Tuesday. Once signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it will be effective on Jan. 1, 2014.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) will be responsible for installing the speed bumps. The city’s new requirement applies to schools with more than 250 students who are in 12th grade or below.
Speed bumps have been shown to reduce automobile speeds by 20 percent and crashes into pedestrians by 40 percent, according a City Council press release.
“Speeding is the number one cause of deadly crashes in New York City and we must do everything we can to prevent fatalities,” Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn stated in a press release.
The DOT will be required to continue installing speed bumps until all of the schools that fall within the city’s new requirement have them. When new schools are constructed, the law requires DOT to re-evaluate the locations for new speed bumps.