The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7266
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 16, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, SIMONE, SIMON, CARROLL, SEAWRIGHT,
   BURDICK, GALLAGHER, PAULIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN,  GLICK,
   HEVESI,  DAVILA,  FORREST,  THIELE, FAHY, McDONOUGH, BURGOS, SILLITTI,
   JACKSON,  MITAYNES,   MAMDANI,   KIM,   J. A. GIGLIO,   DE LOS SANTOS,
   D. ROSENTHAL,  CRUZ, GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee 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:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Sammy's law".
   § 2. Paragraphs 26 and 27 of subdivision (a) of section  1642  of  the
 vehicle  and  traffic  law,  paragraph  26  as added and paragraph 27 as
 amended by chapter 248 of the laws of  2014,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   26.  (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this
 paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
 fic) in such city, other than state highways maintained 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
 city 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, establish-
 ment of maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed  within  such
 city  or  within  designated areas of such city higher or lower than the
 fifty-five miles per hour maximum statutory limit. No such  speed  limit
 applicable  throughout such city or within designated areas of such city
 shall be established at less than [twenty-five] TWENTY miles  per  hour,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02070-03-3

 A. 7266                             2
 
 except  that  school  speed  limits  may  be established at no less than
 fifteen miles per hour pursuant to the  provisions  of  section  sixteen
 hundred forty-three of this article.
   (b)  A  city  shall not lower OR RAISE a speed limit by more than five
 miles per hour pursuant to this  paragraph  unless  such  city  provides
 written  notice  and an opportunity to comment to the community board or
 community boards established pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred of
 the New York city charter with jurisdiction over the area in  which  the
 lower  OR HIGHER speed limit shall apply. Such notice may be provided by
 electronic mail and shall be provided sixty days prior to the establish-
 ment of such lower OR HIGHER speed limit.
   27. (a) Establishment of  maximum  speed  limits  below  [twenty-five]
 TWENTY  miles  per  hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along
 designated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of  imple-
 menting  traffic  calming  measures  as  such  term  is  defined herein;
 provided, however, that no speed limit shall be set below [fifteen]  TEN
 miles per hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traf-
 fic  calming  measure  to  be  implemented  consists solely of a traffic
 control sign.  Establishment of such a speed limit shall, where applica-
 ble, be in compliance with the provisions of  sections  sixteen  hundred
 twenty-four  and  sixteen  hundred  eighty-four of this [chapter] TITLE.
 Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to alter or affect  the  estab-
 lishment  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 engineer-
 ing measure or measures that reduce the negative effects of motor  vehi-
 cle  use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized
 street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.
   (b) Any city establishing maximum  speed  limits  below  [twenty-five]
 TWENTY  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
 fifteen and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic  calm-
 ing  measures and speed limits lower than [twenty-five] TWENTY miles per
 hour as authorized by this paragraph. This report  shall  also  be  made
 available  to  the public by such city on its website. 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 [and];
   (iii) AN EXPLANATION OF THE REASONS FOR SETTING  LOWER  SPEED  LIMITS,
 HOW  THOSE LOWER SPEED LIMITS COMPLY WITH ENGINEERING STANDARDS, AND HOW
 THEY WILL ENSURE THAT MOTOR VEHICLES CAN OPERATE AT  SAFE  SPEEDS  IN  A
 MANNER THAT OPTIMIZES ALL ROAD USERS' SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE; AND
   (IV) a comparison of the aggregate type, number, and severity of acci-
 dents  reported  on  streets  on which street calming measures and lower
 speed limits were implemented in the year preceding  the  implementation
 of  such measures and policies and the year following the implementation
 of such measures and policies, to the extent this information  is  main-
 tained by any agency of the state or the city.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.