Motorists who pick up speed as they motor down a steep hill alongside the Bruckner Expressway, outside Country Club, will be reminded just how fast they are going.
A “speed board” has been set up at the Bruckner Boulevard and Kearney Avenue service road by the city Department of Transportation, alerting motorists to the 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, giving them a precise measure of their speed before they descend down the hill, through a sharp turn, to a traffic light at Waterbury Avenue.
When motorists exceed the speed limit, the speed board posts the number on its bright, 18-inch LED screen.
The speed board is portable and was brought to the location at the request of Councilman Jimmy Vacca and city DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Both were on hand for a press conference after its installation on Thursday, April 21, and the speed board, which costs about $6,000, is part of a test program as the city is ramping up plans to implement the technology in all five boroughs.
“This service road represents one of the most accident prone locations for speeding in my district, and we have seen accidents here on a regular basis,” Vacca said. “Because the road abuts a highway, many cars do not realize how fast they are truly going.”
Setting up a speed board will help create greater awareness and hopefully result in better cooperation among motorists, and encourage drivers to obey the rules of the road, Vacca said.
When DOT surveyed the site recently, inspectors found 96% of cars speeding on the hilly roadway abutting the Bruckner, with an average speed of 37 miles-per-hour, making the service road hazardous for a handful of homeowners and motorists who park their cars as the roadway approaches Waterbury Avenue, as well as pedestrians crossing the street to the Waterbury Avenue footbridge that crosses over I-95.
“A little technology can go a long way to bring motorists up to speed on driving safety,” Sadik-Khan said. “Educating drivers and providing information so they can make better decisions on our roads will make our streets safer for everyone who uses them.”
The new, portable electric speed board is one of three recently acquired by the DOT, and will be dedicated to the agency’s anti-speeding initiative.
The agency is trying to get across the message that simply slowing down, sometimes from just 40 to 30 miles-per-hour, saves lives, Sadik-Khan said.
“I am really concerned about speeding here, because most of the drivers don’t seem to care, even though there is a traffic light at Waterbury.” said Moghal Khan, a homeowner living approximately 500 feet from the new speed board.
“Around the curve there have been so many accidents, with people crashing into cars, trees and curbs that no one wants to park their car along the roadway anymore, and we are feeling unsafe.”