NYC's New Speed Limit: Your Questions, Answered

New 25 mph speed limit sign, being loaded onto a NYC DOT truck

There's a new speed limit?
As of Nov. 7, the city's default speed limit will lower five miles to 25 mph. Remember? We talked about this.

Why?

It's something city officials have wanted to do for years, but it's taken on new urgency as a key piece of de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative. The mayor's office says the likelihood of a fatal crash declines significantly at speeds below 30 mph. Advocates say that translates into a 50 percent reduction in pedestrian fatalities.

 But what about the Cross Bronx/I-495/my child's elementary school?

Default speed limit means that if you don't see a sign, you drive 25. If a posted sign has a different speed, you obey it. "Whatever the sign says, that's what the speed limit is," says NYC transportation commissioner Polly Trottenberg. There are roads throughout the city where the default speed limit does not apply. And there are roads that have already been lowered to 25 as part of the city's slow zone program.

So if the sign says 30, I still can drive 30, even though the default limit is 25?

Yes.

That's confusing.

Just remember this: if you don't see a sign, drive 25. Otherwise, obey the the posted speed limit.

How will the new speed limit be enforced?

The DOT has been handing out flyers to drivers, and putting the word out on social media and ad campaigns across the city. There will be NYPD enforcement of the city's new speed limit, and NYC's speed cameras will shift to the new speed limit on Nov. 7. But: "don't be slowing down because you're always worried about a ticket," Trottenberg said last month. "Slow down because it's the right thing to do."

How many speed limit signs have to be changed?

A total of 3,000 across the city. That's a lot of aluminum to be cut, as demonstrated below.

How long will that take?

Up to a year, which is why officials refer to the speed limit change as being phased in. On Friday, workers will start installing 89 "gateway" signs "so that all motorists entering the city of New York will be advised of the new speed limit," according to Anthony Galgan, the chief of traffic control and engineering for NYC DOT. That should be completed by the end of next week. After that, they'll target key locations and proceed from there.

What happens to the old 30 mph signs?

If the aluminum is in good condition, says Galligan, "they'll be used for a new, same-sized sign. If the aluminum is bent or not in good condition, we'll send them to salvage and we get scrap money for them."