Bill Text: NY A01007 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Authorizes cities, villages and towns to reduce the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-9)
Status: (Passed) 2022-08-12 - signed chap.496 [A01007 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A01007-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1007--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 7, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, JACOBSON, WOERNER, THIELE, WALCZYK, MORINELLO, BYRNES, GOTTFRIED, McDONOUGH, RA, SMULLEN, FAHY, STECK, KELLES, DURSO, McMAHON, FORREST, HEVESI, SIMON, BURDICK, FRON- TUS, CRUZ, GLICK, NORRIS, SALKA, DE LOS SANTOS, GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation -- recommitted to the Committee on Trans- portation in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to authorizing cities, villages and towns to reduce the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 2 chapter 412 of the laws 2012, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1643. Speed limits on highways in cities and villages. The legisla- 4 tive body of any city or village with respect to highways (which term 5 for the purposes of this section shall include private roads open to 6 public motor vehicle traffic) in such city or village, other than state 7 highways maintained by the state on which the department of transporta- 8 tion shall have established higher or lower speed limits than the statu- 9 tory fifty-five miles per hour speed limit as provided in section 10 sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on which the department of 11 transportation shall have designated that such city or village shall not 12 establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred 13 twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations imposed by section 14 sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title may by local law, ordinance, 15 order, rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits at which vehi- 16 cles may proceed within such city or village, within designated areas of 17 such city or village or on or along designated highways within such city EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02142-02-2A. 1007--A 2 1 or village higher or lower than the fifty-five miles per hour maximum 2 statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city or 3 village or within designated areas of such city or village shall be 4 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour; except 5 that in the city of Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits 6 may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any 7 portion of the following highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Hard- 8 ing avenue, Mitchell avenue, Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge 9 avenue, Wilson avenue and Taft avenue. No such speed limit applicable on 10 or along designated highways within such city or village shall be estab- 11 lished at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed 12 limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a 13 distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a 14 highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting 15 on the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and Roches- 16 ter speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per 17 hour for any portion of a highway within a city park. No speed limits 18 shall be established pursuant to the provisions of this section except 19 in accordance with the engineering considerations and factors for speed 20 limits set forth in the manual and specifications for a uniform system 21 of traffic control devices maintained by the commissioner of transporta- 22 tion pursuant to section sixteen hundred eighty of this title, as such 23 manual and specifications may be amended from time to time, certified by 24 a licensed professional engineer who specializes in traffic operations. 25 § 2. Section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 26 chapter 405 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 27 § 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any subur- 28 ban town governed pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the 29 town board of any other town having a population exceeding fifty thou- 30 sand, with respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this 31 section shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf- 32 fic) in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main- 33 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have 34 established higher or lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five 35 miles per hour speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty 36 of this title, or on which the department of transportation shall have 37 designated that such towns shall not establish any maximum speed limit 38 as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, 39 subject to the limitations imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty- 40 four of this title may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regu- 41 lation establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed 42 within such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along 43 designated highways within such towns lower than the fifty-five miles 44 per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable 45 throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall be 46 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour, except 47 that in the town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not 48 less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the 49 community known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of the 50 following highways in the community known as Lido Beach: Ocean Boule- 51 vard, Allevard Street, Bath Street, Buxton Street, Cheltenham Street, 52 Pinehurst Street, Harrogate Street, Matlock Street, Nantwick Street, 53 Biarritz Street, Royat Street, Luchon Street, Woodhail Street, Leaming- 54 ton Street, Saratoga Street, Kensington Street, and Prescott Street; 55 provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town may be estab- 56 lished unless a majority of the residents of each such community file aA. 1007--A 3 1 petition with the town board of such town requesting such speed limit. 2 No such speed limit applicable on or along designated highways within 3 such towns shall be established at less than twenty-five miles per hour, 4 except that school speed limits may be established at not less than 5 fifteen miles per hour, for a distance not to exceed one thousand three 6 hundred twenty feet, on a highway passing a school building, entrance or 7 exit of a school abutting on the highway, and except further that in the 8 town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not less than 9 fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the communities 10 known as Point Lookout and Lido Beach; provided, however, that no such 11 speed limit in such town may be established unless a majority of the 12 residents of each such community file a petition with the town board of 13 such town requesting such speed limit. No speed limits shall be estab- 14 lished pursuant to the provisions of this section except in accordance 15 with the engineering considerations and factors for speed limits set 16 forth in the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic 17 control devices maintained by the commissioner of transportation pursu- 18 ant to section sixteen hundred eighty of this title, as such manual and 19 specifications may be amended from time to time, certified by a licensed 20 professional engineer who specializes in traffic operations. 21 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 1622 of the vehicle and traffic law, as 22 amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1969, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 2. Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed on or 25 along all such highways lying within an area or areas as designated by a 26 description of the boundaries of such area or areas submitted by the 27 county superintendent of highways of a county and the town board of the 28 town or towns affected lower than fifty-five miles per hour statutory 29 maximum speed limit. No such limit shall be established at less than 30 [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour. 31 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.