Burlington drivers, beware: There's a new speed limit in town. A recent change has set the top speed at 20 miles per hour within a six-block downtown swath that is roughly bordered by Pearl Street, South Winooski Avenue, Maple Street and Lake Street. That's down from 25 mph, which is the limit on most other city streets. New street signs are being installed, and lawn signs with the slogan "20 is Plenty" have popped up in greenbelts across the city. Officials say slower speeds reduce car crashes, including those involving pedestrians. Injuries caused by collisions are typically less severe when drivers are going slower. "We have a wonderful and vibrant downtown with a lot of pedestrians. And we also live up north, where it's dark and rainy a bit of the year," Burlington Public Works director Chapin Spencer said. "Twenty miles an hour through our small downtown allows drivers to see more of downtown, while also getting through downtown in a reasonable fashion." The speed reduction, which went into effect on October 23, isn't being paired with more aggressive traffic enforcement, however. For years, Burlington police have been conducting fewer traffic stops, and the department is now too short-staffed to consider upping the patrols. Instead, Spencer said, the city is adopting new street designs that encourage drivers to go slower, such as adding street trees and "bump-outs," extended curbs meant to lessen the crossing distance for pedestrians. Those elements are already in place on St. Paul Street, which the city renovated in 2019 as part of its "Great Streets Initiative" to create friendlier roadways for walkers and cyclists. Main Street, which is now getting the Great Streets treatment, will soon feature a "mid-block" crosswalk to help people safely cross from City Hall Park to the Flynn theater, Spencer said. [content-4] Battery Street, another main thoroughfare in the new 20-mph zone, is also slated for upgrades, though the city doesn't yet have funding for the project. A near-finished scoping study will recommend narrowing the north-south roadway from four travel lanes to two, creating safer passage for cyclists and pedestrians, Spencer said. Meantime, there are no immediate plans to expand the new speed zone, as state statute prohibits streets from going below 25 mph outside of a designated downtown, Spencer said. Other places, including New York City, have adopted 20 mph limits — or even lower — in certain areas. So far, Spencer…