New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill this month reducing the speed limit in New York City. But what will it take to get people to actually slow down, especially when speeding is an acceptable social norm?
Tom Vanderbilt follows on New York State's adoption of a bill that lowers the default speed limit in New York City to 25 miles per hour by asking a question that gets at "a sterner challenge to the new limit." That is, how will the city convince drivers to obey the new speed limit? "What, after all, is so dangerous about driving 5 or 10 m.p.h. above the new speed, a difference the driver may hardly register?"
After stating that there are only two ways to lower the speeds of drivers (speed bumps and speed cameras), Vanderbilt makes an argument that a far more powerful force must be addressed before speeds will stop killing people: social norms. Stated simply, "New York City needs to look like a city where driving above 25 m.p.h. seems not simply dangerous, but inappropriate."
FULL STORY: A Psychological Speed Limit

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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