Twin Cities drivers: Slow your engines.

City officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis will hold a joint media event at 11 a.m. Thursday to announce new, slower speed limits on city-owned streets to take effect this spring.

The announcement will take place at Franklin Avenue and Emerald Street, which is the border between St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Most city-owned streets currently have a 30-mph speed limit.

The new limits will be detailed Thursday, but the St. Paul City Council last year envisioned the limits likely dropping to 20 or 25 mph, depending upon the road.

The changes do not apply to town roads, county highways or trunk highways.

Both cities have completed the required technical analysis outlined under state law.

The Minnesota Legislature allowed cities the authority to set speed limits on streets they own, effective Aug. 1, 2019. The goal is to reduce the likelihood of pedestrian crashes involving injury or death.

Noting a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle in St. Paul every three days — and cyclists are struck every five days — city officials have embraced a mantra that less speed is more: more driver reaction time, more opportunity for non-motorized commuters to avoid vehicles, and a higher chance of survival without serious injury when a crash occurs.

In October, the St. Paul City Council approved a city ordinance allowing the city engineer to set speed limits.

Citing statistics from the National Transportation Safety Board, St. Paul’s 22-page speed limit evaluation notes that more than 30 percent of fatal traffic crashes are speed-related.

The same percentage of fatalities held true for alcohol-related crashes. In effect, fast driving and drunken driving are equally likely to result in deaths.

When a speed limit is set at 40 mph, 73 percent of pedestrians hit by a vehicle will die or suffer serious injury, according to the report. When the speed limit drops to 30 mph, the fatality and serious injury rate falls to 40 percent. And at 20 mph, it’s 13 percent.

Cities nationally have begun taking a harder look at cyclist and pedestrian safety. Boston, Seattle, New York and Portland, Ore., have all lowered their speed limits and implemented new bike amenities such as protected bike lanes.

St. Paul adopted its inaugural Pedestrian Plan in 2019, and Minneapolis has a Vision Zero Action Plan, which outlines key steps for the next three years to end traffic deaths on city streets by 2027. St. Paul maintains similar “Vision Zero” goals in its comprehensive plan.

The St. Paul plan calls for advocating for a statewide reduction in urban speeds, new pedestrian-friendly street designs and reducing roadway crossing widths.