Senate Bill S6496B

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 6496--B

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 29, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. DILAN, DIAZ, HOYLMAN, ESPAILLAT, GIANARIS, KRUEGER,
  LATIMER,  MONTGOMERY,  PARKER,  PERKINS,  RIVERA,  SERRANO,  SQUADRON,
  STAVISKY  --  read  twice  and ordered printed, and when printed to be
  committed to the Committee on Cities  --  committee  discharged,  bill
  amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
  tee --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
  amended and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the administrative code
  of the city of New York, in relation to speed limits

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
chapter 412 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
  S 1643. Speed limits on highways in cities and villages. The  legisla-
tive  body  of  any city or village with respect to highways (which term
for the purposes of this section shall include  private  roads  open  to
public  motor vehicle traffic) in such city or village, other than state
highways maintained by the state on which the department of  transporta-
tion shall have established higher or lower speed limits than the statu-
tory  fifty-five  miles  per  hour  speed  limit  as provided in section
sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or  on  which  the  department  of
transportation shall have designated that such city or village shall not
establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred
twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations imposed by section
sixteen  hundred  eighty-four of this title may by local law, ordinance,
order, rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits at which  vehi-
cles may proceed within such city or village, within designated areas of
such city or village or on or along designated highways within such city
or  village  higher  or lower than the fifty-five miles per hour maximum
statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city  or
village  or  within  designated  areas  of such city or village shall be
established at less than thirty miles per hour; except that in the  city
of  Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits may be established
at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of the  following

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD13595-07-4

S. 6496--B                          2

highways  in  such  city:  Cleveland  avenue,  Harding  avenue, Mitchell
avenue, Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge avenue, Wilson  avenue
and Taft avenue; AND EXCEPT THAT IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK THE SPEED LIMIT
APPLICABLE  THROUGHOUT  SUCH  CITY  MAY  BE ESTABLISHED AT NOT LESS THAN
TWENTY-FIVE MILES PER HOUR.  No such speed limit applicable on or  along
designated  highways within such city or village shall be established at
less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that  school  speed  limits
may  be  established  at  not  less  than  fifteen miles per hour, for a
distance not to exceed one thousand three  hundred  twenty  feet,  on  a
highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting
on  the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and Roches-
ter speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen  miles  per
hour  for  any  portion of a highway within a city park, AND EXCEPT THAT
WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK SPEED LIMITS MAY BE ESTABLISHED AT NOT  LESS
THAN  TWENTY  MILES PER HOUR ON OR ALONG DESIGNATED HIGHWAYS WITHIN SUCH
CITY IF SUCH CITY HAS DETERMINED  THAT  THE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  TRAFFIC
CALMING  MEASURES  AS  SUCH  TERM  IS DEFINED IN SECTION SIXTEEN HUNDRED
FORTY-TWO OF THIS TITLE IS NOT FEASIBLE ON SUCH HIGHWAYS.
  S 2. Paragraph 26 of subdivision (a) of section 1642  of  the  vehicle
and traffic law, as added by chapter 499 of the laws of 1999, is amended
to read as follows:
  26.  [(a)]  Establishment  of  maximum  speed limits below twenty-five
miles per hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on  or  along  desig-
nated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of implementing
traffic  calming  measures  as  such  term  is defined herein; provided,
however, that no SUCH speed limit shall be set below fifteen  miles  per
hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traffic calming
measure  to  be  implemented  consists solely of a traffic control sign.
Establishment of such a speed  limit  shall,  where  applicable,  be  in
compliance  with  the provisions of sections sixteen hundred twenty-four
and sixteen hundred eighty-four of this chapter. Nothing contained here-
in shall be deemed to alter or affect the establishment of school  speed
limits pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen hundred forty-three
of  this  article.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "traffic calming
measures" shall mean any physical engineering measure or  measures  that
reduce  the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior
and improve conditions for non-motorized street users such as  pedestri-
ans and bicyclists.
  [(b)  Any  city  establishing  maximum  speed limits below twenty-five
miles per hour pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall  submit
a  report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the
speaker of the assembly on or before March first, two  thousand  two  on
the  results  of  using  traffic calming measures and speed limits lower
than twenty-five miles per hour as authorized by  this  paragraph.  Such
report shall include, but not be limited to the following:
  (i)  a  description  of  the designated highways where traffic calming
measures and a lower speed limit were established and
  (ii) a description of the specific traffic calming measures  used  and
the maximum speed limit established.]
  S 3. Subdivision a of section 19-177 of the administrative code of the
city of New York, as added by Local law number 6 of the city of New York
for the year 1996, is amended to read as follows:
  a.  The  official  speed  limit  for a vehicle in the city of New York
shall be [thirty] TWENTY-FIVE miles per hour except  where  an  official
sign indicates that a different speed limit is in effect.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.