The Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx has become the first neighborhood in NYC to be transformed into an idyllic "Slow Zone" by the DOT. While the department already has many 20 mph reduced speed zones on streets around schools, the Claremont slow zone is the first to cover a large swath of a neighborhood, with "gateway" signs that clearly indicate the entrance of the slow zone, and 28 new signs marking the 20 mph speed limit in and around the zone. And the zone itself is "self-enforcing," because the quarter-square-mile area comes complete with 14 speed bumps that will force maniac drivers to take it easy.

The DOT says the Slow Zones are intended to reduce the number and severity of crashes on residential streets. Any neighborhood can request a Slow Zone, and this week the DOT launched a new streamlined application process allowing communities to request slow zones in all five boroughs. (Or, to put that in terms the NY Post can understand, the DOT's spandex cycling fanatic Janette "Sadist" Khan is ramming these business-killing slow zones down New Yorkers' throats!)

"Local neighborhood streets are not highways, they are not shortcuts, they are where New Yorkers live," DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan said in a statement. "While fatalities and serious injuries are at record low levels in New York City, too many of the remaining crashes are still preventable, and one in four traffic fatalities involved unsafe speed. A pedestrian struck by a car going 40 mph has a 70 percent chance of dying while a pedestrian stuck by a car going 20 mph has a 95 percent chance of surviving." Fine, but how many local businesses will fold because potential customers have to drive so slow they arrive after closing time?!

Here's a look at the layout of the Claremont slow zone; take your time looking it over:

Bronx_Slow Zone Map Signs & Humps