Enacts the "real accessible pedestrian signal act" in relation to requiring newly installed or constructed pedestrian signal units to be accessible pedestrian signals and to include tactile maps.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9605
IN SENATE
March 27, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 enacting the
"real accessible pedestrian signal act"
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 "real accessible pedestrian signal act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that DeafBlind pedes-
4 trians and others with combined sensory disabilities cannot rely on
5 visual, audio, or unraised text instructions to safely cross streets. To
6 ensure effective communication and independent navigation, accessible
7 pedestrian signals must include tactile features such as braille, raised
8 lettering, and raised lines.
9 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
10 1118 to read as follows:
11 § 1118. Accessible pedestrian signals. (a) Definitions. For purposes
12 of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
13 1. "Pedestrian signal" means a traffic control device designed to
14 regulate pedestrian traffic.
15 2. "Accessible pedestrian signal" means a pedestrian signal designed
16 to assist pedestrians with visual, auditory, physical, or combined
17 sensory disabilities in locating and activating the pedestrian phase.
18 3. "Tactile map" means a tactile sign or surface affixed to or inte-
19 grated with an accessible pedestrian signal that utilizes braille,
20 raised lettering, and raised lines to convey information necessary for
21 safe pedestrian crossing.
22 4. "Pushbutton locator tones" means tones emitted by an accessible
23 pedestrian signal to assist pedestrians with visual disabilities in
24 locating the pushbutton.
25 (b) Requirement of accessibility in pedestrian signals. 1. In any
26 town, city, or village, all pedestrian signal units installed or
27 constructed on or after the effective date of this section shall be
28 accessible pedestrian signals and shall include tactile maps.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14865-01-6
S. 9605 2
1 2. Pedestrian signal units installed prior to the effective date of
2 this section shall not be required to be retrofitted or replaced solely
3 to comply with this section, but shall be brought into compliance only
4 when such units are replaced or upgraded as part of routine maintenance,
5 repair, modernization, or end-of-life replacement.
6 3. Tactile maps shall include, at minimum:
7 a. Identification of the relevant intersection and crossing location
8 (for example, "Northeast corner of 42nd Street and Broadway");
9 b. Instructions for operating the signal, including identification of
10 tactile, vibratory, visual, or audible features; and
11 c. Raised and braille text identifying the crossing direction and
12 orientation.
13 (c) Clarification of applicability and limitations. 1. Nothing in this
14 section shall be construed to require any municipality, the department
15 of transportation, the department of transportation of the city of New
16 York or any municipal department responsible for the installation and
17 maintenance of pedestrian signals to accelerate planned replacement
18 schedules or incur costs beyond ordinary capital replacement cycles.
19 2. The department of transportation, the department of transportation
20 of the city of New York and any municipal department responsible for the
21 installation and maintenance of pedestrian signals may continue to
22 install and deploy accessible pedestrian signal units owned or held in
23 inventory prior to the effective date of this section, until such inven-
24 tory is exhausted.
25 (d) Maintenance of pushbutton locator tones. Pushbutton locator tones
26 shall be maintained in working condition and shall remain reasonably
27 capable of directing pedestrians with visual disabilities to the acces-
28 sible pedestrian signal unit.
29 (e) Priority of installation of accessible pedestrian signals. Nothing
30 in this section shall be construed to delay, postpone, or diminish any
31 existing obligation of the department of transportation, the department
32 of transportation of the city of New York or any municipal department
33 responsible for the installation and maintenance of pedestrian signals
34 to install accessible pedestrian signals, replace non-accessible pedes-
35 trian signals, repair malfunctioning units, or comply with any court
36 order or settlement currently in effect in the state of New York.
37 (f) Responsibility. The department of transportation, the department
38 of transportation of the city of New York and any municipal department
39 responsible for the installation and maintenance of pedestrian signals
40 shall be responsible for compliance with the provisions of this section
41 relative to any accessible pedestrian signal unit over which such
42 department has jurisdiction.
43 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
44 have become a law.
