Gizmo will direct you to empty parking spots

Here's a story from this week's Bronx Press.

By Brendan McHugh 

DOT hopes the senors can withstand the
New York weather and traffic conditions.

Need a parking spot? There may soon be an app for that. 

If the technology proves durable, drivers in the Bronx will be the first to find parking spots by checking their smartphones. 

Hockey puck sized sensors were drilled into the streets near Arthur Avenue last week in 177 parking spaces on both sides of 187th Street in Belmont. If they can survive the harsh weather conditions of New York for the next three months, motorists will be able to download a free application on their phones to find vacant parking spots. 

"We are making it easier for drivers to park. We are actually piloting new technology that will bring parking information into the palm of your hand," said Janette Sadik-Khan, the NYC DOT Commissioner. 

“There are benefits, not only to drivers but to the surrounding community,” she said. “You’re relieving the congestion and pollution associated with those people who are cruising around looking for parking.” 

The app will tell drivers if there are a high number of open spaces, if it is beginning to fill up, or if there are virtually no spots available. 

Sadik-Khan said they haven’t figured out how drivers will use the app while driving; using a mobile device not physically connected to the car is illegal in New York. 

“Right now we’re just testing the equipment,” she said. “The parking app has worked in other cities that have done it.” 

'Slow Zones' latest DOT measure to curb speeders

Here's the story from this week's Bronx Press that explains the new 'slow zone' that will be coming to more neighborhoods throughout the city. A Riverdale elected official has already said that he wants to bring the zone to part of his district, which you can read about here.

By Brendan McHugh 

Those with a lead foot are about to find it much more difficult to drive through the city. 

Slow zones create 20 mph
speed limits throughout a neighborhood.

The Department of Transportation began the city’s first-ever Neighborhood Slow Zone on Monday, reducing the local speed limit in Claremont from 30 mph to 20 mph and adding certain traffic calming measures.

Chosen because of the neighborhoods high accident and fatality rate, Claremont is getting nine new speed bumps in addition to the five already present, and other traffic calming measures such as signage and street markings are being added to the roads. 

Signs posting the 20 mph speed limit are at 14 entranceways to the quarter-square mile zone. Also, 14 more speed limit signs are post throughout the neighborhood and stencil speed limits on the street itself are in 45 different places.

Jump below for the full story.

New answer for school traffic woes?

A story from this week's Riverdale Review. There is a similar story in a separate post that fully explains the 'slow zone' practice that debuted in Claremont this week.

By Brendan McHugh 

Last month, elected officials requested slower speed limits, new signage and speed bumps for the area around PS 24 and MS/HS 141. 

Turns out, the City has a new program that can do just that. 

On Monday, the Department of Transportation announced its first-ever Neighborhood Slow Zone in Claremont. The slow zone reduces the speed limit in the quarter-square mile neighborhood from 30 mph to 20 mph, adds nine new speed bumps and over 50 new signs—both on poles and stenciled onto the street—to the area alerting drivers of the speed limit. 

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, one of three legislators who wrote to DOT in October, says Independence Avenue is a model candidate for the new traffic safety program. 

“Given the area’s proximity to several schools, a public library, and houses of worship, I believe this stretch of Independence Avenue would be an ideal location for a Neighborhood Slow Zone,” he wrote in a letter to DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan earlier this week. 

Jump below for the full story.