by David Cruz 

Speeders will definitely have to think twice about zipping up and down East Gun Hill Road moving forward.

It’s along three miles of that roadway, from Jerome Avenue to the southbound side of the I-95, where the borough’s third Arterial Slow Zone will be installed, city transportation officials announced May 16.

Speeding along wide streets will drop from 30mph to 25mph as a way to also reduce the number of pedestrian-involved car crashes that have been reported over the last couple of years.

Blue signs, becoming common in the Norwood area, will be scattered throughout the primary strip that’s home to the I-95, two shopping corridors, two high schools and Montefiore Medical Center.

East Gun Hill Road is a particular busy street stretching east to west with trucks, ambulances taxis and other vehicles plowing through daily. There have been four pedestrian fatalities from 2008 to 2012, according to city records.

“Citywide arterials like East Gun Hill Road make up just 15 percent of street mileage, have been some 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities,” said the city Department of Transportation Bronx Borough Commissioner Connie Moran.

Among the fatalities was David Troy Ellis, a high school football star who died in a hit-and-run crashwhile riding his bike on East Gun Hill Road and Webster Avenue in July 2012. A so-called Ghost Bike–a discarded bicycle painted white–can be seen chained to a street light by where Ellis was hit.

The slow zones are part of the De Blasio Administration’s Vision Zero plan, intended to reduce traffic fatalities by zero within the next decade.

“With wide lanes that can encourage speeding and long pedestrian crossings it’s no surprise that at every Vision Zero town hall to date and at every conversation the number one request is to fix our arterial roadway.” said Moran.

Ongoing efforts have been made to slow down a culture of speeding along certain areas of the city, including the Bronx. Gun Hill Road now joins Southern Boulevard, between Bruckner Boulevard and E. Fordham Road, and Grand Concourse, between E. 140^th Street and Mosholu Parkway, as the third slow zone.

News of the East Gun Hill Road Slow Zone was a relief for Councilman Andy King, who represents most of the district the Slow Zone will fall.

“People they think can speed just because they think they can,” said King. “It’s a privilege to drive. We want people to be safe.”

Police have given drivers a one-month reprieve before they begin enforcing the slow zone, which include other traffic-reduction measures such as retimed traffic lights. Drivers will also notice temporary speed boards in high-traffic areas to encourage a slow down.

Enforcement will take place June 9, according to NYPD Deputy Chief Terrence Monahan, adding traffic enforcement officers from the area’s local precincts will be equipped with a LiDAR speed gun.

“If they’re speeding, they’re going to get a ticket,” said Monahan. “Those are points on the license. You add up those points, and you’ll lose your license.”

Reach editor-in-chief David Cruz at 718-324-4998 or dcruz@norwoodnews.org.