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A07266 Summary:

BILL NOA07266A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02422-B
 
SPONSORRosenthal L
 
COSPNSRSimone, Simon, Carroll, Seawright, Burdick, Gallagher, Paulin, Gonzalez-Rojas, Dinowitz, Epstein, Glick, Hevesi, Davila, Forrest, Thiele, Fahy, McDonough, Sillitti, Jackson, Mitaynes, Mamdani, Kim, Giglio JA, De Los Santos, Cruz, Gallahan, Ardila, Raga, Zaccaro, Anderson, Shimsky, Reyes, Shrestha, Alvarez, Lee, Bores, Bichotte Hermelyn, Cunningham, Gibbs, Taylor, Tapia, Septimo, Rajkumar, Chandler-Waterman, Brown K, Stirpe, Steck, Ramos, Maher, Tague, Kelles, Benedetto, Lavine, Rivera, Curran, Slater, Angelino, DiPietro, Stern, Jacobson, Chang, Gunther, Santabarbara, Ra, Clark, Otis, Woerner, Pretlow, McMahon, Burke, Colton
 
MLTSPNSRCook
 
Amd 1642, V & T L
 
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 miles per hour.
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A07266 Actions:

BILL NOA07266A
 
05/16/2023referred to transportation
01/03/2024referred to transportation
02/22/2024amend and recommit to transportation
02/22/2024print number 7266a
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A07266 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7266A
 
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L
  TITLE OF BILL: 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   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 of the bill names the act "Sammy's Law." Section 2 of the bill amends section 1642 of the Vehicle & Traffic Law ("Additional traffic regulations in cities having a population in excess of one million") by: - Amending sub-paragraph 26(a) to authorize New York City to set a city- wide speed limit as low as 20 miles per hour. - Amending sub-paragraph 26(b) to require New York City to provide Writ- ten notice and an opportunity for public comment before a community board if the City raises a speed limit by more than 5 miles per hour. This is an expansion of an existing statutory requirement for notice and public comment if the City lowers a speed limit by more than 5 miles per hour. - Amending paragraph 27, authorizing New York City to set speed limits on specific streets as low as 10 MPH using traffic calming measures. Currently, the speed limit can be set as low as 15 MPH using such meas- ures. Section 3 of the bill establishes an education and outreach campaign to New York City drivers. Section 4 of the bill is the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: In 2014, the Legislature passed a law authorizing New York City to establish a 25 mile per hour speed limit throughout the City, with speed limits as low as 15 miles per hour in school zones and on streets where the City has implemented traffic calming measures to reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and/or improve conditions for non-motorized street users such as pedestrians and bicy- clists. The 2014 law, a key component of New York City's Vision Zero initiative, has helped contribute to a 36% decline in pedestrian deaths at priority locations throughout the City. (1) Giving New York City the authority to reduce speed limits to as low as 20 MPH citywide or as low as 5 MPH with the implementation of traffic calming measures will give the City a flexible tool for making further progress toward the important goal of Vision Zero. According to a study by AAA, an estimated 30% of pedestri- ans struck by motor vehicles at an impact speed of 25 mph will sustain serious injury and about 12% will die. At impact speeds below 15 mph, most pedestrians who are struck (about 91%) do not sustain serious inju- ries, and fewer die. (2) By authorizing citywide speed limits as low as 20 miles per hour, New York City would join other dense American cities such as Washington, DC 3, Seattle, WA 4, and Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN 5. This bill is named in tribute to Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year- old boy who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Prospect Park, Brook- lyn in October 2013.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: S.0524-A of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): Died in Rules; A.4655-A of 2021-2022 (Gottfried): Died in Transportation   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: 60 days. 1 https://wwwl.nyc.crov/assets/visionzero/down Loads/pdf/vision-zero-year-6-report.pdf 2 https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2011 Pedestrian- RiskVsSpeedReport.pdf 3 https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/spe(lIng-laws-fines-and- safe- ty,4:-:texteSpeeding%20Laws%2011 mph 4 httos://www.seattiorgov/visionzero/rules- of-the-road:-:text-Our%20Laws&text-in%20Seattle%2C% 20the%20speedo20limit,25%2OMPH%2C2Ouniess 20otherwis:S2Oposted 5 https://www.visienzero,com/soeedlim
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A07266 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7266--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      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,  CRUZ,
          GALLAHAN,  ARDILA,  RAGA, ZACCARO, ANDERSON, SHIMSKY, REYES, SHRESTHA,
          ALVAREZ, LEE, BORES,  BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  CUNNINGHAM,  GIBBS,  TAYLOR,
          TAPIA,  SEPTIMO, RAJKUMAR, CHANDLER-WATERMAN, K. BROWN, STIRPE, STECK,
          RAMOS,  MAHER,  TAGUE,  KELLES,  BENEDETTO,  LAVINE,  RIVERA,  CURRAN,
          SLATER, ANGELINO, DiPIETRO, STERN, JACOBSON, CHANG, GUNTHER, SANTABAR-
          BARA,  RA,  CLARK,  OTIS,  WOERNER, PRETLOW, McMAHON, BURKE, COLTON --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation -- recommit-
          ted to the Committee on Transportation  in  accordance  with  Assembly
          Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        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. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  "Sammy's law".
     3    §  2.  Paragraphs  26 and 27 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the
     4  vehicle and traffic law, paragraph 26  as  added  and  paragraph  27  as
     5  amended  by  chapter  248  of  the  laws of 2014, are amended to read as
     6  follows:
     7    26. (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of  this
     8  paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
     9  fic)  in such city, other than state highways maintained by the state on
    10  which the department of transportation shall have established higher  or
    11  lower  speed  limits  than the statutory fifty-five miles per hour speed
    12  limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02070-24-4

        A. 7266--A                          2
 
     1  which the department of transportation shall have designated  that  such
     2  city  shall not establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section
     3  sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, subject  to  the  limitations
     4  imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title, establish-
     5  ment  of  maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such
     6  city or within designated areas of such city higher or  lower  than  the
     7  fifty-five miles per hour maximum statutory limit. [No] Except for high-
     8  ways  that  consist  of  three  or more through travel lanes in the same
     9  direction, no such speed limit applicable throughout such city or within
    10  designated areas of such city shall be established at less  than  [twen-
    11  ty-five]  twenty  miles  per hour, [except] provided that this exception
    12  shall not apply in a county with  a  population  of  no  less  than  one
    13  million  six  hundred  ninety-four thousand and no more than one million
    14  six hundred ninety-five thousand as of the two thousand twenty decennial
    15  census, and provided, further, that school speed limits  may  be  estab-
    16  lished at no less than fifteen miles per hour pursuant to the provisions
    17  of section sixteen hundred forty-three of this article.
    18    (b)  A  city shall not lower or raise a speed limit [by more than five
    19  miles per hour] pursuant to this paragraph  unless  such  city  provides
    20  written  notice  and an opportunity to comment to the community board or
    21  community boards established pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred of
    22  the New York city charter with jurisdiction over the area in  which  the
    23  lower  or higher speed limit shall apply. Such notice may be provided by
    24  electronic mail and shall be provided sixty days prior to the establish-
    25  ment of such lower or higher speed limit.
    26    27. (a) Establishment of  maximum  speed  limits  below  [twenty-five]
    27  twenty  miles  per  hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along
    28  designated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of  imple-
    29  menting  traffic  calming  measures  as  such  term  is  defined herein;
    30  provided, however, that no speed limit shall be set below [fifteen]  ten
    31  miles per hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traf-
    32  fic  calming  measure  to  be  implemented  consists solely of a traffic
    33  control sign.  Establishment of such a speed limit shall, where applica-
    34  ble, be in compliance with the provisions of  sections  sixteen  hundred
    35  twenty-four  and  sixteen  hundred  eighty-four of this [chapter] title.
    36  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to alter or affect  the  estab-
    37  lishment  of  school  speed limits pursuant to the provisions of section
    38  sixteen hundred forty-three of this article. For the  purposes  of  this
    39  paragraph,  "traffic calming measures" shall mean any physical engineer-
    40  ing measure or measures that reduce the negative effects of motor  vehi-
    41  cle  use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized
    42  street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.
    43    (b) Any city establishing maximum  speed  limits  below  [twenty-five]
    44  twenty  miles per hour pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall
    45  submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of  the  senate
    46  and  the  speaker of the assembly on or before March first, two thousand
    47  fifteen and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic  calm-
    48  ing  measures and speed limits lower than [twenty-five] twenty miles per
    49  hour as authorized by this paragraph. This report  shall  also  be  made
    50  available  to  the public by such city on its website. Such report shall
    51  include, but not be limited to the following:
    52    (i) a description of the designated  highways  where  traffic  calming
    53  measures and a lower speed limit were established [and];
    54    (ii)  a  description of the specific traffic calming measures used and
    55  the maximum speed limit established [and];

        A. 7266--A                          3
 
     1    (iii) an explanation of the reasons for setting  lower  speed  limits,
     2  how  those lower speed limits comply with engineering standards, and how
     3  they will ensure that motor vehicles can operate at  safe  speeds  in  a
     4  manner that optimizes all road users' safety and convenience; and
     5    (iv) a comparison of the aggregate type, number, and severity of acci-
     6  dents  reported  on  streets  on which street calming measures and lower
     7  speed limits were implemented in the year preceding  the  implementation
     8  of  such measures and policies and the year following the implementation
     9  of such measures and policies, to the extent this information  is  main-
    10  tained by any agency of the state or the city.
    11    § 3. 1. For the purpose of informing and educating persons who operate
    12  motor vehicles in this state:
    13    (a)  Any law enforcement official authorized to issue appearance tick-
    14  ets pursuant to the vehicle and traffic law may,  during  the  six-month
    15  period  beginning on the effective date of this act, stop motor vehicles
    16  and issue verbal warnings to persons who are in violation of the maximum
    17  speed limits lowered by section two of this act, and who  are  traveling
    18  at  a  speed of less than fifteen miles per hour over such maximum speed
    19  limits.
    20    (b) Any municipality authorized to issue appearance  tickets  by  mail
    21  where  a  jurisdiction  has  installed  a  photo speed monitoring system
    22  pursuant to the vehicle and traffic law may, during the six-month period
    23  beginning on the effective date of this act, issue written  warnings  to
    24  persons  who  are  in  violation  of the maximum speed limits lowered by
    25  section two of this act, and who are traveling at a speed of  less  than
    26  15 miles per hour over such maximum speed limits.
    27    2.  The  department  of  transportation for the city of New York shall
    28  implement an education campaign which shall, at a minimum:
    29    (a) Alert drivers to the passage of this act;
    30    (b) Educate drivers of the dangers of speeding,  including  the  known
    31  increases  of  fatalities  and  serious  injuries in crashes involving a
    32  vehicle traveling over 20 miles per hour; and
    33    (c) Educate drivers of the dangers of crashes involving pedestrians.
    34    3. The department of transportation for the city  of  New  York  shall
    35  install  additional signage around school zones that notifies drivers of
    36  the speed limit.
    37    § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    38  have become a law.
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