Slower Speed Limits Begin in the Bronx

The intersection of Jerome Avenue and Fordham Road is a busy one. With cars whizzing by and pedestrians who j-walk, Jerome has seen five traffic fatalities between 2008 and 2012.

Local resident Damaris Ortega says Jerome will benefit from the new speed limit, which has been decreased by 5 mhp. She says drivers need to be more careful.

"They're always trying to get ahead of the pedestrians so there's always... risk," Ortega said.

Other residents are more skeptical. Maurice Jones drives along Jerome every day. He says people speed all the time on that street and he doesn't think the new speed limit will change much.

"...expect if the cops are there to enforce it," Jones said of the new 25 mph speed limit, "because even now, people are going above the posted speed limit."

Walking along a stretch of Jerome Avenue between East Kingsbridge Road and E. 183 Street on Monday, there was no visible police presence to enforce the new speed limit.

The so-called Arterial Slow Zone on Jerome, in which the speed limit has been reduced by 5 mph, includes five miles of the roadway between E. 161 Street and Bainbridge Avenue. Most of this stretch has been reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph, with the exception of West Gun Hill Road to Bainbridge Avenue. Here, the speed limit has been reduced from 35 mph to 30 mph. The new speed limits went into effect Monday.

Jerome is one of 14 new slow zones being added to the city. Other slow zones that have been announced by the DOT include stretches of Utica Avenue and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Amsterdam Avenue and Park Avenue in Manhattan and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

Officials called the newly announced slow zones "phase two," with "phase one" slow zones announced earlier this year. These slow zones are part of Mayor DeBlasio's Vision Zero initiative