Bill Text: NY A01246 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Reduces the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour in cities, villages and towns.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-4)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-08-17 - enacting clause stricken [A01246 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A01246-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1246 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 7, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, JACOBSON, WOERNER, THIELE, MORINELLO, WALCZYK, BYRNES, GOTTFRIED, SMULLEN, FAHY -- Multi-Spon- sored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to reducing the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour in cities, villages and towns 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 18 or village higher or lower than the fifty-five miles per hour maximum 19 statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city or 20 village or within designated areas of such city or village shall be 21 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour; except 22 that in the city of Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02145-01-1A. 1246 2 1 may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any 2 portion of the following highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Hard- 3 ing avenue, Mitchell avenue, Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge 4 avenue, Wilson avenue and Taft avenue. No such speed limit applicable on 5 or along designated highways within such city or village shall be estab- 6 lished at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed 7 limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a 8 distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a 9 highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting 10 on the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and Roches- 11 ter speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per 12 hour for any portion of a highway within a city park. 13 § 2. Section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 14 chapter 405 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 15 § 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any subur- 16 ban town governed pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the 17 town board of any other town having a population exceeding fifty thou- 18 sand, with respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this 19 section shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf- 20 fic) in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main- 21 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have 22 established higher or lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five 23 miles per hour speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty 24 of this title, or on which the department of transportation shall have 25 designated that such towns shall not establish any maximum speed limit 26 as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, 27 subject to the limitations imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty- 28 four of this title may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regu- 29 lation establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed 30 within such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along 31 designated highways within such towns lower than the fifty-five miles 32 per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable 33 throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall be 34 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour, except 35 that in the town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not 36 less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the 37 community known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of the 38 following highways in the community known as Lido Beach: Ocean Boule- 39 vard, Allevard Street, Bath Street, Buxton Street, Cheltenham Street, 40 Pinehurst Street, Harrogate Street, Matlock Street, Nantwick Street, 41 Biarritz Street, Royat Street, Luchon Street, Woodhail Street, Leaming- 42 ton Street, Saratoga Street, Kensington Street, and Prescott Street; 43 provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town may be estab- 44 lished unless a majority of the residents of each such community file a 45 petition with the town board of such town requesting such speed limit. 46 No such speed limit applicable on or along designated highways within 47 such towns shall be established at less than twenty-five miles per hour, 48 except that school speed limits may be established at not less than 49 fifteen miles per hour, for a distance not to exceed one thousand three 50 hundred twenty feet, on a highway passing a school building, entrance or 51 exit of a school abutting on the highway, and except further that in the 52 town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not less than 53 fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the communities 54 known as Point Lookout and Lido Beach; provided, however, that no such 55 speed limit in such town may be established unless a majority of theA. 1246 3 1 residents of each such community file a petition with the town board of 2 such town requesting such speed limit. 3 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 1271 of the vehicle and traffic law, as 4 added by chapter 365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 5 1. Except in cities with a population of one million or more and 6 except as provided by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation 7 enacted or promulgated pursuant to subdivision two of this section, an 8 electric personal assistive mobility device may only be operated on 9 highways with a posted speed limit of [thirty] twenty-five miles per 10 hour or less, including non-interstate public highways, private roads 11 open to motor vehicle traffic, and designated bicycle or in-line skate 12 lanes. Every person operating an electric personal assistive mobility 13 device upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be 14 subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by 15 this title, except as to special regulations in this article and except 16 as to those provisions of this title which by their nature can have no 17 application; provided, however, that when the operator of an electric 18 personal assistive mobility device is making a left turn at or crossing 19 an intersection, such operator shall use the designated crosswalk for 20 such purpose. 21 § 4. 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 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
