NEW YORK - JULY 08: Drivers wait in traffic during the afternoon commute July 8, 2009 in New York City. High gas prices and a struggling economy have helped to slightly ease rush hour commuting with the first two-year decline in nationwide traffic congestion since the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University began studying the issue in 1982. The average motorist spent 1.3 fewer hours in traffic in 2007 than in 2005, according to the institute. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Photo: Mario Tama/2009 Getty Images
You wouldn’t know it from sitting in Manhattan traffic, but a lot of New York streets have a 30 mph speed limit. Under a bill currently making its way to a vote in the City Council, that would be reduced, though they’re still working out by how much. Councilman David Greenfield had sought to reduce the speed limit to 20 mph, but in order to comply with state law, they had to change it to 25 mph on “one-way streets that do not have more than one lane of traffic.” A bit like Mayor Bloomberg’s “slow zones,” but not as slow.
