NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9775
SPONSOR: Shrestha TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to area speed
limits
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill gives municipalities outside of New York City the ability to
use the National Association of City Transportation Officials' (NACTO)
published guide for evaluating speed limits instead of relying solely on
the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic control
devices. This will allow municipalities to reduce area wide speed limits
from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour without prohibitively expen-
sive engineering studies.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Short title: This act shall be known and may be cited as
"Area Speed Limits Act."
Section 2: Amends Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law to give
cities and villages with populations of less than one million the
authority to use the National Association of City Transportation Offi-
cials' (NACTO) published guide for evaluating speed limits in addition
to the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic control
devices.
Section 3: Amends Section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law to give
towns the authority to use the National Association of City Transporta-
tion Officials' (NACTO) published guide for evaluating speed limits in
addition to the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traf-
fic control devices.
Section 4: Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapter 496 of 2022 intended to give municipalities outside of New York
City the ability to set area speed limits at 25 miles per hour instead
of 30 miles per hour. Unfortunately, the current statute requires muni-
cipalities to conduct engineering studies that are prohibitively expen-
sive for large areas in order to effectuate this change, and very few
municipalities have been able to use their chapter 496 authority to set
new area speed limits over large areas. According to AAA's Foundation
for Traffic Safety, the risk of severe injury for a pedestrian in a car
crash climbs from 25% to 50% between 23 mph and 31 mph. New York City
has an area wide speed limit of 25, and other municipalities in the
state should be able to make the same choice.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR 5TATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill is effective immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9775
IN ASSEMBLY
April 9, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SHRESTHA -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to area speed
limits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "area speed limits act".
3 § 2. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap-
4 ter 496 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 1643. Speed limits on highways in cities and villages. The legisla-
6 tive body of any city or village with respect to highways (which term
7 for the purposes of this section shall include private roads open to
8 public motor vehicle traffic) in such city or village, other than state
9 highways maintained by the state on which the department of transporta-
10 tion shall have established higher or lower speed limits than the statu-
11 tory fifty-five miles per hour speed limit as provided in section
12 sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on which the department of
13 transportation shall have designated that such city or village shall not
14 establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred
15 twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations imposed by section
16 sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title may by local law, ordinance,
17 order, rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits at which vehi-
18 cles may proceed within such city or village, within designated areas of
19 such city or village or on or along designated highways within such city
20 or village higher or lower than the fifty-five miles per hour maximum
21 statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city or
22 village or within designated areas of such city or village shall be
23 established at less than twenty-five miles per hour; except that in the
24 city of Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits may be estab-
25 lished at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of the
26 following highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Harding avenue, Mitc-
27 hell avenue, Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge avenue, Wilson
28 avenue and Taft avenue. No such speed limit applicable on or along
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15114-02-4
A. 9775 2
1 designated highways within such city or village shall be established at
2 less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed limits
3 may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a
4 distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a
5 highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting
6 on the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and Roches-
7 ter speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per
8 hour for any portion of a highway within a city park. No speed limits
9 shall be established pursuant to the provisions of this section except
10 in accordance with the engineering considerations and factors for speed
11 limits set forth in either:
12 a. the standards and methods described by the national association of
13 city transportation officials (NACTO), such as a published guide for
14 evaluating speed limits; or
15 b. the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic
16 control devices maintained by the commissioner of transportation pursu-
17 ant to section sixteen hundred eighty of this title, as such manual and
18 specifications may be amended from time to time, certified by a licensed
19 professional engineer who specializes in traffic operations.
20 § 3. Section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
21 chapter 496 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
22 § 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any subur-
23 ban town governed pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the
24 town board of any other town having a population exceeding fifty thou-
25 sand, with respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this
26 section shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
27 fic) in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main-
28 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have
29 established higher or lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five
30 miles per hour speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty
31 of this title, or on which the department of transportation shall have
32 designated that such towns shall not establish any maximum speed limit
33 as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title,
34 subject to the limitations imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-
35 four of this title may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regu-
36 lation establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed
37 within such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along
38 designated highways within such towns lower than the fifty-five miles
39 per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable
40 throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall be
41 established at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that in the
42 town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not less than
43 fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the community
44 known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of the following high-
45 ways in the community known as Lido Beach: Ocean Boulevard, Allevard
46 Street, Bath Street, Buxton Street, Cheltenham Street, Pinehurst Street,
47 Harrogate Street, Matlock Street, Nantwick Street, Biarritz Street,
48 Royat Street, Luchon Street, Woodhail Street, Leamington Street, Sarato-
49 ga Street, Kensington Street, and Prescott Street; provided, however,
50 that no such speed limit in such town may be established unless a major-
51 ity of the residents of each such community file a petition with the
52 town board of such town requesting such speed limit. No such speed limit
53 applicable on or along designated highways within such towns shall be
54 established at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school
55 speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour,
56 for a distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on
A. 9775 3
1 a highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abut-
2 ting on the highway, and except further that in the town of Hempstead
3 speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour
4 on any portion of a highway in the communities known as Point Lookout
5 and Lido Beach; provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town
6 may be established unless a majority of the residents of each such
7 community file a petition with the town board of such town requesting
8 such speed limit. No speed limits shall be established pursuant to the
9 provisions of this section except in accordance with the engineering
10 considerations and factors for speed limits set forth in either:
11 a. the standards and methods described by the national association of
12 city transportation officials (NACTO), such as a published guide for
13 evaluating speed limits; or
14 b. the manual and specifications for a uniform system of traffic
15 control devices maintained by the commissioner of transportation pursu-
16 ant to section sixteen hundred eighty of this title, as such manual and
17 specifications may be amended from time to time, certified by a licensed
18 professional engineer who specializes in traffic operations.
19 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
