On Saturday the Arlington County Board approved a request to advertise a public hearing on creating permanent 20 mph “slow zones” near 13 of the county’s schools.
It’s part of the national Vision Zero Initiative that promotes lower speed limits for areas where children are frequent pedestrians, bicyclists and passengers.
This board meeting and initial outreach will “help the County test proposed signs and collect data to determine the impact on speeds and safety before the County deploys the slow zone guidelines on a larger scale,” according to the Arlington County website.
“I encourage everyone to just pause and think about our kids are back in school”, said Chair of the Arlington County Board Matt De Ferranti. “Driving safely near school is so important and it’s relevant to all of us.”
De Ferranti said he finds himself having to tap on the brakes a little more in school zones.
“This is part of our Vision Zero Initiative — it is very important, so this is a step to advertise lower speed limits near schools,” De Ferranti stated.
