Crash-Prone Wash Heights Street Section Gets New Speed Limit

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A stretch of Riverside Drive in Washington Heights that has been a frequent site of crashes will get a new speed limit.

The city announced Tuesday that speed limits across nine high-crash roads, including Riverside Drive from 165th Street to 181st Street, will be reduced by 5 mph. In total, 25 miles of city streets will move slower after crews put up new signs in the next four to six weeks, according to a release.

The speed limit for the 16-blocks on Riverside Drive in Washington Heights will go from 30 mph to 25 mph. It is the only set of blocks in Manhattan getting a speed limit change.

"Slower speed limits, speed cameras, and increased enforcement will save lives and keep New York City the safest big city in America for the next generation," Mayor Bill de Blasio said about the reduced speed limits, which also came with an announcement about school zone cameras.

The effort is part of Vision Zero, a citywide program pushed by de Blasio that aims to reduce traffic deaths.

During the pandemic, emptied roadways across New York City became the site of speeding drag racers, which have not seemed to slowed down as traffic returns back to normal.

Speeding tickets have made up more than a quarter of traffic violations so far this year, compared to less than 15 percent of violations the year before. Just in August, cops gave out more than 5,800 speeding tickets across the city.

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed to this report.