Bill Text: NY A04655 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to establishing speed limits in cities with populations in excess of one million people by easing restrictions so cities can establish speed limits below twenty five miles per hour.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 30-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to transportation [A04655 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04655-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to establishing speed limits in cities with populations in excess of one million people by easing restrictions so cities can establish speed limits below twenty five miles per hour.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 30-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to transportation [A04655 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04655-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4655 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing speed limits in cities with populations in excess of one million people The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Sammy's law". 2 § 2. Paragraphs 26 and 27 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the 3 vehicle and traffic law, paragraph 26 as added and paragraph 27 as 4 amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as 5 follows: 6 26. (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this 7 paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf- 8 fic) in such city, other than state highways maintained by the state on 9 which the department of transportation shall have established higher or 10 lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five miles per hour speed 11 limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on 12 which the department of transportation shall have designated that such 13 city shall not establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section 14 sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations 15 imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title, establish- 16 ment of maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such 17 city or within designated areas of such city higher or lower than the 18 fifty-five miles per hour maximum statutory limit. [No such speed limit19applicable throughout such city or within designated areas of such city20shall be established at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except21that school speed limits may be established at no less than fifteen22miles per hour pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen hundred23forty-three of this article.] EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03998-01-1A. 4655 2 1 (b) A city shall not lower or raise a speed limit by more than five 2 miles per hour pursuant to this paragraph unless such city provides 3 written notice and an opportunity to comment to the community board or 4 community boards established pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred of 5 the New York city charter with jurisdiction over the area in which the 6 lower or higher speed limit shall apply. Such notice may be provided by 7 electronic mail and shall be provided sixty days prior to the establish- 8 ment of such lower or higher speed limit. 9 [27. (a) Establishment of maximum speed limits below twenty-five miles10per hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along designated11highways within such city for the explicit purpose of implementing traf-12fic calming measures as such term is defined herein; provided, however,13that no speed limit shall be set below fifteen miles per hour nor shall14such speed limit be established where the traffic calming measure to be15implemented consists solely of a traffic control sign. Establishment of16such a speed limit shall, where applicable, be in compliance with the17provisions of sections sixteen hundred twenty-four and sixteen hundred18eighty-four of this chapter. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to19alter or affect the establishment of school speed limits pursuant to the20provisions of section sixteen hundred forty-three of this article. For21the purposes of this paragraph, "traffic calming measures" shall mean22any physical engineering measure or measures that reduce the negative23effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior and improve condi-24tions for non-motorized street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.25(b) Any city establishing maximum speed limits below twenty-five miles26per hour pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall submit a27report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the28speaker of the assembly on or before March first, two thousand fifteen29and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic calming meas-30ures and speed limits lower than twenty-five miles per hour as author-31ized by this paragraph. This report shall also be made available to the32public by such city on its website. Such report shall include, but not33be limited to the following:34(i) a description of the designated highways where traffic calming35measures and a lower speed limit were established and36(ii) a description of the specific traffic calming measures used and37the maximum speed limit established and38(iii) a comparison of the aggregate type, number, and severity of39accidents reported on streets on which street calming measures and lower40speed limits were implemented in the year preceding the implementation41of such measures and policies and the year following the implementation42of such measures and policies, to the extent this information is main-43tained by any agency of the state or the city.] 44 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
