Lowering speed limits is completely pointless if the street design is not changed to align with that limit. You can't enforce your way to lower speeds.
I'll add to the chorus of agreement.
Near me the City designated Danforth east of Main as a 'Seniors Safety Zone' which carries no legal weight so far as I know; but in any event, made no changes to the road until the cycle tracks were built.
One would think the principle issue would have been people crossing the road mid-block here. In that particular location, traffic lights are close at hand in both directions.
If one needed improvements here, the road diet of cycle tracks aside; it would be to
a) Eliminate a common left-hand turn movement off Danforth into Main Square which is not and never will be signalized. A physical median/barrier at this location would improve things.
b) Eliminate a problematic left turn onto to Danforth from Barrington (again a physical barrier would be ideal).
c) Improve safety at the intersections themselves by adding a left-signal phase SB Main to EB Danforth; and by making crosswalks more visible.
d) Though I would miss the Shwarma place; one of the rare cases where a wider turning radii is pretty much essential is WB Danforth to NB Main. Buses and Trucks find it very challenging and often mount the sidewalk at the corner which is not all safe!
e) Narrow Danforth at one spot (probably at Barrington) where pedestrian crossings are likely to continue, by eliminating parking just in the immediate area (probably 4 - 6 spaces); this would shorten the crossing distance, improve the sightlines, make traffic movements more predictable, create an intuitive spot for pedestrians to cross, and an intuitive spot for motorists to expect same.
All that is preferable to another 'zone'.