Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Street Safety

Mary Beth Kelly: Let’s Start Driving on City Streets With a Respect for Life

Tomorrow the default New York City speed limit will drop to 25 miles per hour. This change was a major component of Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero Action Plan, and thanks to support from city and state lawmakers, and tireless advocacy on the part of Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets, streets will be more forgiving for New Yorkers who walk, bike, and drive.

While new signage is at the ready, and the city has worked at getting the word out, all city motorists won't ease off their accelerators at the stroke of midnight. In this short PSA, Mary Beth Kelly of Families for Safe Streets tells Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson what she hopes to see as drivers become accustomed to the new law.

"I'd like to see New Yorkers re-learn how to drive in an urban space," says Kelly.

I think, like with any change, our neuro-circuitry isn't prepared, and it's going to take practice, and time, and people are going to feel like going slower with the new 25 miles per hour is too slow. But that's only because we're used to going so much faster, or trying to. So it's a matter of practice and getting used to that, so that when you go fast you feel uncomfortable, you feel the difference, and you realize, rather it feeling too slow, you're noticing when it's feeling too fast.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

State Pauses Billion-Dollar Route 17 Expansion in Hudson Valley

One of the biggest highway boondoggles in the state may finally die a merciful death, thanks to Gov. Hochul.

October 14, 2025

Delivery Workers Continue Push For Deactivation Protections

Delivery workers put pressure on the City Council to pass a bill that would give them "just cause" protections.

October 14, 2025

Parking? Lots! But Manhattanites Want to Unlock Space by Queensboro Bridge

It used to be open in the distant past, and can be once again. But DOT says it needs it for "storage."

October 14, 2025

Opinion: Daylighting Corners Would Add Safety While Tackling New York’s Placard Elite

If he's elected, Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani must confront this city's current socialist aberration: Free parking.

October 14, 2025

Syracuse Struggles to Unify for Street Safety

A decade-old effort to pass a Vision Zero plan and tap into a pot of federal money that may be drying up has stalled in Syracuse — and everyone is finger-pointing.

October 13, 2025
See all posts