KINGSTON – The mayor of the City of Kingston would like motorists to slow down so he has proposed to the common council a city-wide 25 mile per hour speed limit.
Mayor Steven Noble said the number one concern of residents at the three ward meetings he has conducted thus far has been speeding in neighborhoods. “I want Kingston residents to know that I share this concern,” he said. “The proposed speed limit reduction is one of many steps we are taking to reduce crashes and increase safety, while working to improve our infrastructure.”
A study from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association shows that there is a 20.3 percent decline in the odds of speeding for vehicles traveling faster than 35 mph, with an 8.5 percent drop for vehicles going faster than 30 mph, and a 2.9 percent drop for vehicles driving over 25 mph.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 25 mph has a 25 percent risk of sustaining a serious or fatal injury, which jumps to 50 percent at 33 mph, and 75 percent at 41 mph.
The mayor’s proposal will go to the Public Safety & General Government Committee of the common council in July.
