City of Seattle, Washington Seattle has utilized two of the three tools outlined in City Limits: default speed limits and corridor speed limits. In pursuit of safer speeds across Seattle, the Department of Transportation (DOT) developed two documents; one describing significant historical events related to changing speed limits in Seattle and the other containing quantitative analysis to support lower speed limits. The second document cited the city’s Vision Zero goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030, the nature of its built environment, and trends in increased walking and biking as reasons Seattle needed lower, safer speed limits. The case Seattle DOT made to their City Council was compelling, and in November 2016 a new law was enacted that lowered the default speed limit from 25 to 20 mph on 1,250 miles of neighborhood streets and from 30 to 25 mph on 200 miles of arterials. Seattle DOT credits much of the movement’s success to the data they were able to reference. A diverse range of stakeholders including the transportation director, a member of city council, a representative from the law department, the city traffic engineer, and a public engagement specialist were involved in the process. Traffic fatalities in the City of Seattle decreased by 26 percent after the city implemented comprehensive, citywide speed management strategies and countermeasures inspired by Vision Zero. City of New York Slow zones and default speed limits are two tools New York City has used for setting safer speeds. The city has designated over two dozen neighborhoods as slow zones as part of its Neighborhood Slow Zones program. The program focuses on residential areas with low traffic volumes and limited through traffic, setting a 20 mph speed limit and introducing traffic calming measures. In 2013, family members of traffic crash victims, City Council members, and local agencies joined forces to petition the state legislature for lower speed limits, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Advocacy of the community, the Mayor’s office, and city agencies eventually paid off when in 2014 the state legislature passed a bill allowing the city to designate a citywide speed limit of 25 mph. To encourage compliance, New York City implemented cameras as part of its automated speed enforcement program. In areas with cameras, speeds dropped by an average of 60%, prompting the city to expand the program's active zones from 140 to 750.
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