Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC's Very First "Neighborhood Slow Zone" Open For Molasses
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 21, 2011
Modified Nov 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Courtesy DOT
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 21, 2011
Modified Nov 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx has become the first neighborhood in NYC to be transformed into an idyllic "Slow Zone" by the DOT. While the department already has many 20 mph reduced speed zones on streets around schools, the Claremont slow zone is the first to cover a large swath of a neighborhood, with "gateway" signs that clearly indicate the entrance of the slow zone, and 28 new signs marking the 20 mph speed limit in and around the zone. And the zone itself is "self-enforcing," because the quarter-square-mile area comes complete with 14 speed bumps that will force maniac drivers to take it easy.
The DOT says the Slow Zones are intended to reduce the number and severity of crashes on residential streets. Any neighborhood can request a Slow Zone, and this week the DOT launched a new streamlined application process allowing communities to request slow zones in all five boroughs. (Or, to put that in terms the NY Post can understand, the DOT's spandex cycling fanatic Janette "Sadist" Khan is ramming these business-killing slow zones down New Yorkers' throats!)
"Local neighborhood streets are not highways, they are not shortcuts, they are where New Yorkers live," DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan said in a statement. "While fatalities and serious injuries are at record low levels in New York City, too many of the remaining crashes are still preventable, and one in four traffic fatalities involved unsafe speed. A pedestrian struck by a car going 40 mph has a 70 percent chance of dying while a pedestrian stuck by a car going 20 mph has a 95 percent chance of surviving." Fine, but how many local businesses will fold because potential customers have to drive so slow they arrive after closing time?!
Here's a look at the layout of the Claremont slow zone; take your time looking it over:
Bronx_Slow Zone Map Signs & Humps
Tagged
claremont
dot
slow zone
speeding
the bronx
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .