STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1246
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 7, 2021
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Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, JACOBSON, WOERNER, THIELE,
MORINELLO, WALCZYK, BYRNES, GOTTFRIED, SMULLEN, FAHY -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to reducing the
speed limit to twenty-five miles per hour in cities, villages and
towns
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section. 1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
2 chapter 412 of the laws 2012, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 1643. Speed limits on highways in cities and villages. The legisla-
4 tive body of any city or village with respect to highways (which term
5 for the purposes of this section shall include private roads open to
6 public motor vehicle traffic) in such city or village, other than state
7 highways maintained by the state on which the department of transporta-
8 tion shall have established higher or lower speed limits than the statu-
9 tory fifty-five miles per hour speed limit as provided in section
10 sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on which the department of
11 transportation shall have designated that such city or village shall not
12 establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred
13 twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations imposed by section
14 sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title may by local law, ordinance,
15 order, rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits at which vehi-
16 cles may proceed within such city or village, within designated areas of
17 such city or village or on or along designated highways within such city
18 or village higher or lower than the fifty-five miles per hour maximum
19 statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city or
20 village or within designated areas of such city or village shall be
21 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour; except
22 that in the city of Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02145-01-1
A. 1246 2
1 may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any
2 portion of the following highways in such city: Cleveland avenue, Hard-
3 ing avenue, Mitchell avenue, Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge
4 avenue, Wilson avenue and Taft avenue. No such speed limit applicable on
5 or along designated highways within such city or village shall be estab-
6 lished at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed
7 limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a
8 distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a
9 highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting
10 on the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and Roches-
11 ter speed limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per
12 hour for any portion of a highway within a city park.
13 § 2. Section 1662-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
14 chapter 405 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any subur-
16 ban town governed pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the
17 town board of any other town having a population exceeding fifty thou-
18 sand, with respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this
19 section shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
20 fic) in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main-
21 tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have
22 established higher or lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five
23 miles per hour speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty
24 of this title, or on which the department of transportation shall have
25 designated that such towns shall not establish any maximum speed limit
26 as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title,
27 subject to the limitations imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-
28 four of this title may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regu-
29 lation establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed
30 within such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along
31 designated highways within such towns lower than the fifty-five miles
32 per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit applicable
33 throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall be
34 established at less than [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour, except
35 that in the town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not
36 less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the
37 community known as Point Lookout and on all or any portion of the
38 following highways in the community known as Lido Beach: Ocean Boule-
39 vard, Allevard Street, Bath Street, Buxton Street, Cheltenham Street,
40 Pinehurst Street, Harrogate Street, Matlock Street, Nantwick Street,
41 Biarritz Street, Royat Street, Luchon Street, Woodhail Street, Leaming-
42 ton Street, Saratoga Street, Kensington Street, and Prescott Street;
43 provided, however, that no such speed limit in such town may be estab-
44 lished unless a majority of the residents of each such community file a
45 petition with the town board of such town requesting such speed limit.
46 No such speed limit applicable on or along designated highways within
47 such towns shall be established at less than twenty-five miles per hour,
48 except that school speed limits may be established at not less than
49 fifteen miles per hour, for a distance not to exceed one thousand three
50 hundred twenty feet, on a highway passing a school building, entrance or
51 exit of a school abutting on the highway, and except further that in the
52 town of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not less than
53 fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a highway in the communities
54 known as Point Lookout and Lido Beach; provided, however, that no such
55 speed limit in such town may be established unless a majority of the
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1 residents of each such community file a petition with the town board of
2 such town requesting such speed limit.
3 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 1271 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
4 added by chapter 365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
5 1. Except in cities with a population of one million or more and
6 except as provided by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation
7 enacted or promulgated pursuant to subdivision two of this section, an
8 electric personal assistive mobility device may only be operated on
9 highways with a posted speed limit of [thirty] twenty-five miles per
10 hour or less, including non-interstate public highways, private roads
11 open to motor vehicle traffic, and designated bicycle or in-line skate
12 lanes. Every person operating an electric personal assistive mobility
13 device upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be
14 subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by
15 this title, except as to special regulations in this article and except
16 as to those provisions of this title which by their nature can have no
17 application; provided, however, that when the operator of an electric
18 personal assistive mobility device is making a left turn at or crossing
19 an intersection, such operator shall use the designated crosswalk for
20 such purpose.
21 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 1622 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
22 amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1969, is amended to read as
23 follows:
24 2. Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed on or
25 along all such highways lying within an area or areas as designated by a
26 description of the boundaries of such area or areas submitted by the
27 county superintendent of highways of a county and the town board of the
28 town or towns affected lower than fifty-five miles per hour statutory
29 maximum speed limit. No such limit shall be established at less than
30 [thirty] twenty-five miles per hour.
31 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.