Traffic Safety
35 mph roads near schools could get slower in New Jersey
Under Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy’s proposal, local governments could make one 5 mph cut on a qualifying road and post the new limit right away. The bill would also set a 15 mph floor and bar repeat cuts on the same stretch.
The measure gives municipalities and counties a faster tool for roads where kids, commuters and other pedestrians are most exposed. It is meant as a one-time adjustment, not a way to keep lowering the same street over and over.
- Local governments could cut speed limits by 5 mph on certain roads.
- The authority would be limited to 35 mph roads in school zones or high-pedestrian areas.
- Officials would still have to consult an engineer or traffic consultant.
- The speed limit could not fall below 15 mph, and each stretch could use the shortcut only once.
- In New Jersey, the people most likely to feel this change are the ones crossing the street with a backpack, a stroller or a lunch break to get to
In New Jersey, the people most likely to feel this change are the ones crossing the street with a backpack, a stroller or a lunch break to get to. A proposal from Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy would give municipalities and counties a faster way to lower speed limits on roads where slower traffic can matter most, especially in school zones and other high-pedestrian areas.
Instead of waiting for the usual engineering and traffic investigation, local governments could act by ordinance or resolution, then cut a qualifying road’s speed limit by 5 miles per hour.
Slower streets, quicker
The bill is narrow by design. It applies only to roads already posted at 35 mph or less, and only when the road sits in a school zone or in another area the local government designates as heavily used by pedestrians.
Local officials would still have to consult a staff engineer or traffic engineering consultant before making the change. And the lower limit could not dip below 15 mph.
Guardrails on the shortcut
The proposal also stops towns and counties from using the shortcut more than once for the same stretch of road. That matters because it turns the new authority into a one-time adjustment, not an open-ended way to keep ratcheting speeds down block by block.
It would also not apply to roads already in the middle of a traffic study, or to roads that had their speed limits changed because of such a study within the prior year. The bill is trying to give local governments a faster lane, but not a blank check.