NY State Senate Bill 2019-S7738A

Senate Bill S7738A

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Authorizes cities, villages and towns to reduce the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 09, 2020	print number 7738a
Mar 09, 2020	amend and recommit to transportation
Feb 12, 2020	referred to transportation

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2019-S7738 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8599
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1643, 1662-a & 1622, V & T L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S2021, A1007

2019-S7738 - Summary

Authorizes cities, villages and towns to reduce the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour.

2019-S7738 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7738

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to afford cities, villages, and towns the
option to set their maximum speed limit at 25mph.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law to allow
the legislative body of any city or village to establish a maximum speed
limit of 25mph.

Section two amends section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law to

allow a town board to establish a maximum speed limit of 25mph.

Section three amends subdivision two of section 1622 of the vehicle and
traffic law to provide that no speed limits along all such highways
lying within an area or areas as designated by a description of the
boundaries of such area or areas submitted by the county superintendent
of highways of a county and the town board of the town or towns affected
shall be established at less than 25mph.

Section four provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Research shows that faster driving speeds correlate to more serious
injuries and fatalities for pedestrians in the event of an accident.
The faster a vehicle is traveling, the less time its driver will have to
see a pedestrian in the road and stop and the less time a pedestrian
will have to react. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety,
a pedestrian struck by a vehicle going 25mph has a 25 percent risk of
sustaining a serious or fatal injury, a 50 percent risk at 33mph and a
75 percent risk at 41mph.

A 2018 study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
found that lowering the speed limit by 5 mph on city streets improves
safety outcomes for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists by reducing
the incidence of speeding. The study focused on Boston, which in 2017
lowered its default speed limit on city streets from 30mph to 25mph.

Researchers found that after the city lowered its speed limit, the esti-
mated odds of a vehicle exceeding 35mph fell by 29.3 percent.  Also, the
odds of a vehicle exceeding 30mph fell by 8.5 percent and by 2.9 percent
of exceeding 25mph. These reduced speeds will help to curb the city's
incidence of serious injuries and fatalities in pedestrian involved
accidents.

In 2014, New York City lowered its speed limit from 30mph to 25mph, as
part of a program known as "Vision Zero," aimed at ending all traffic
related deaths and serious injuries in the city by 2024. To date, the
three years following implementation of the program have been studied
and the number of traffic related fatalities declined for these three
consecutive years and is down 23 percent overall. This bill would afford
cities, towns and villages in the state the option to set their maximum
speed limits at 25mph. Under current law, the default maximum speed
limit throughout a city, town or village may not be set lower than
30mph. Research proves that the public's safety benefits when speed
limits are lowered and municipalities should be granted the authority to
take this proactive step to help decrease fatalities and the severity of
injuries that can result from speed related accidents. Reducing speed
limits is an efficient, simple solution to protect the public and
prevent tragedies.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2019-S7738 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7738
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 12, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 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:
 
   Section  1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
 chapter 412 of the laws 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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  (I)  THE
 LEGISLATIVE  BODY  OF  ANY  CITY OR VILLAGE MAY BY LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE,
 ORDER, RULE OR REGULATION ESTABLISH A MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT OF TWENTY-FIVE
 MILES PER HOUR APPLICABLE THROUGHOUT SUCH CITY OR VILLAGE, AND  (II)  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  highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Harding avenue,
 Mitchell avenue,  Belmont  avenue,  Atlantic  avenue,  Coolidge  avenue,
 Wilson  avenue  and  Taft  avenue.  No such speed limit applicable on or

 along designated highways within such city or village  shall  be  estab-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13761-01-9

 S. 7738                             2
 
 lished 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.
   §  2.  Section  1662-a  of  the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
 chapter 405 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   § 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any  subur-
 ban  town  governed  pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the
 town board of any other town having a population exceeding  fifty  thou-
 sand,  with  respect  to  highways  (which term for the purposes of this
 section shall include private roads open to public motor  vehicle  traf-
 fic)  in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main-
 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have
 established higher or lower speed limits than the  statutory  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 towns 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 regu-
 lation establish maximum speed limits  at  which  vehicles  may  proceed
 within  such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along
 designated highways within such towns lower than  the  fifty-five  miles
 per  hour  maximum  statutory  limit.  No  such  speed  limit applicable
 throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall  be
 established  at  less than thirty miles per hour, except that (I) A TOWN
 BOARD MAY BY LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE, ORDER, RULE OR REGULATION ESTABLISH A
 MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT OF TWENTY-FIVE MILES PER HOUR APPLICABLE  THROUGHOUT
 SUCH  TOWN  AND (II) in the town of Hempstead speed limits may be estab-
 lished at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a high-
 way in the community known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of
 the following highways in the  community  known  as  Lido  Beach:  Ocean
 Boulevard,  Allevard  Street,  Bath  Street,  Buxton  Street, Cheltenham
 Street, Pinehurst Street, Harrogate  Street,  Matlock  Street,  Nantwick
 Street,  Biarritz  Street, Royat Street, Luchon Street, Woodhail Street,
 Leamington Street, Saratoga  Street,  Kensington  Street,  and  Prescott
 Street;  provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town may be
 established unless a majority of the residents of  each  such  community
 file  a  petition with the town board of such town requesting such speed
 limit. No such speed limit applicable on or  along  designated  highways
 within  such  towns  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 further
 that in the town of Hempstead speed limits may  be  established  at  not
 less  than  fifteen  miles  per  hour on any portion of a highway in the
 communities known as Point Lookout and Lido  Beach;  provided,  however,
 that no such speed limit in such town may be established unless a major-
 ity  of  the  residents  of each such community file a petition with the
 town board of such town requesting such speed limit.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S7738A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8599
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1643, 1662-a & 1622, V & T L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S2021, A1007

2019-S7738A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes cities, villages and towns to reduce the speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour.

2019-S7738A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7738A

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE:

To afford cities, villages, and towns the option to set their maximum
speed limit at 25mph

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law to allow
the legislative body of any city or village to establish a maximum speed
limit of 25mph.

Section two amends section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law to

allow a town board to establish a maximum speed limit of 25mph.

Section three amends subdivision two of section 1622 of the vehicle and
traffic law to provide that no speed limits along all such highways
lying within an area or areas as designated by a description of the
boundaries of such area or areas submitted by the county superintendent
of highways of a county and the town board of the town or towns affected
shall be established at less than 25mph.

Section four provides the effective date.

** The amendments to this bill update the text to include section 3
outlined above. **

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Research shows that faster driving speeds correlate to more serious
injuries and fatalities for pedestrians in the event of an accident.
The faster a vehicle is traveling, the less time its driver will have to
see a pedestrian in the road and stop and the less time a pedestrian
will have to react. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety,
a pedestrian struck by a vehicle going 25mph has a 25 percent risk of
sustaining a serious or fatal injury, a 50 percent risk at 33mph and a
75 percent risk at 41mph.

A 2018 study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
found that lowering the speed limit by 5 mph on city streets improves
safety outcomes for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists by reducing
the incidence of speeding. The study focused on Boston, which in 2017
lowered its default speed limit on city streets from 30mph to 25mph.

Researchers found that after the city lowered its speed limit, the esti-
mated odds of a vehicle exceeding 35mph fell by 29.3 percent.  Also, the
odds of a vehicle exceeding 30mph fell by 8.5 percent and by 2.9 percent
of exceeding 25mph. These reduced speeds will help to curb the city's
incidence of serious injuries and fatalities in pedestrian involved
accidents.

In 2014, New York City lowered its speed limit from 30mph to 25mph, as
part of a program known as "Vision Zero," aimed at ending all traffic
related deaths and serious injuries in the city by 2024. To date, the
three years following implementation of the program have been studied
and the number of traffic related fatalities declined for these three
consecutive years and went down 23 percent overall. This bill would
afford cities, towns and villages in the state the option to set its
maximum speed limit at 25mph. Under current law, the default maximum
speed limit throughout a city, town or village may not be set lower than
30mph. Research proves that the public's safety benefits when speed
limits are lowered and municipalities should be granted the authority to
take this proactive step to help decrease fatalities and the severity of
injuries that can result from speed related accidents. Reducing speed
limits is an efficient, simple solution to protect the public and
prevent tragedies.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2019-S7738A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7738--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 12, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation --  commit-
   tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
   mitted 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:
 
   Section  1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
 chapter 412 of the laws 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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  (I)  THE
 LEGISLATIVE  BODY  OF  ANY  CITY OR VILLAGE MAY BY LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE,
 ORDER, RULE OR REGULATION ESTABLISH A MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT OF TWENTY-FIVE
 MILES PER HOUR APPLICABLE THROUGHOUT SUCH CITY OR VILLAGE, AND  (II)  in
 the  city  of  Long  Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits may be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13761-03-0

 S. 7738--A                          2
 
 established at not less than fifteen miles per hour on  any  portion  of
 the  following  highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Harding avenue,
 Mitchell avenue,  Belmont  avenue,  Atlantic  avenue,  Coolidge  avenue,
 Wilson  avenue  and  Taft  avenue.  No such speed limit applicable on or
 along designated highways within such city or village  shall  be  estab-
 lished 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.
   § 2. Section 1662-a of the vehicle and  traffic  law,  as  amended  by
 chapter 405 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   §  1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any subur-
 ban town governed pursuant to article three-A of the town  law  and  the
 town  board  of any other town having a population exceeding fifty thou-
 sand, with respect to highways (which term  for  the  purposes  of  this
 section  shall  include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
 fic) in such towns outside any village, other than state highways  main-
 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have
 established  higher  or lower speed limits than the statutory 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 towns 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  regu-
 lation  establish  maximum  speed  limits  at which vehicles may proceed
 within such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or  along
 designated  highways  within  such towns lower than the fifty-five miles
 per hour  maximum  statutory  limit.  No  such  speed  limit  applicable
 throughout  such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall be
 established at less than thirty miles per hour, except that (I)  A  TOWN
 BOARD MAY BY LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE, ORDER, RULE OR REGULATION ESTABLISH A
 MAXIMUM  SPEED LIMIT OF TWENTY-FIVE MILES PER HOUR APPLICABLE THROUGHOUT
 SUCH TOWN AND (II) in the town of Hempstead speed limits may  be  estab-
 lished at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a high-
 way in the community known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of
 the  following  highways  in  the  community  known as Lido Beach: Ocean
 Boulevard, Allevard  Street,  Bath  Street,  Buxton  Street,  Cheltenham
 Street,  Pinehurst  Street,  Harrogate  Street, Matlock Street, Nantwick
 Street, Biarritz Street, Royat Street, Luchon Street,  Woodhail  Street,
 Leamington  Street,  Saratoga  Street,  Kensington  Street, and Prescott
 Street; provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town may  be
 established  unless  a  majority of the residents of each such community
 file a petition with the town board of such town requesting  such  speed
 limit.  No  such  speed limit applicable on or along designated highways
 within such towns 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 further
 that  in  the  town  of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not
 less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion  of  a  highway  in  the
 communities  known  as  Point Lookout and Lido Beach; provided, however,

 S. 7738--A                          3
 
 that no such speed limit in such town may be established unless a major-
 ity of the residents of each such community file  a  petition  with  the
 town board of such town requesting such speed limit.
   §  3. Subdivision 2 of section 1622 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
 amended by chapter 83 of the  laws  of  1969,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   2.  Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed on or
 along all such highways lying within an area or areas as designated by a
 description of the boundaries of such area or  areas  submitted  by  the
 county  superintendent of highways of a county and the town board of the
 town or towns affected lower than fifty-five miles  per  hour  statutory
 maximum  speed  limit.  No  such limit shall be established at less than
 [thirty] TWENTY-FIVE miles per hour.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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