A10144 Summary:

BILL NOA10144
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07892
 
SPONSORRules (O'Donnell)
 
COSPNSRSilver, Mosley, Jacobs, Ortiz, Davila, Simotas, Gottfried, Robinson, Millman, Dinowitz, Otis, Quart, Weprin, Kavanagh, Sepulveda, Pichardo, Wright, Scarborough, Clark, DenDekker, Benedetto, Miller, Heastie, Simanowitz, Glick, Weinstein, Markey, Cymbrowitz, Rosenthal, Crespo, Moya, Rodriguez, Hevesi, Arroyo, Brennan, Cook, Farrell, Jaffee, Lentol, Perry, Rivera, Rozic, Steck
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd S1642, V & T L
 
Authorizes the city of New York to establish reduced speed limits throughout the city and on certain designated highways.
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A10144 Actions:

BILL NOA10144
 
06/17/2014referred to transportation
06/19/2014reference changed to codes
06/19/2014reported referred to rules
06/19/2014reported
06/19/2014rules report cal.584
06/19/2014ordered to third reading rules cal.584
06/19/2014home rule request
06/19/2014message of necessity - 3 day message
06/19/2014passed assembly
06/19/2014delivered to senate
06/19/2014REFERRED TO RULES
06/19/2014SUBSTITUTED FOR S7892
06/19/20143RD READING CAL.1657
06/19/2014HOME RULE REQUEST
06/19/2014PASSED SENATE
06/19/2014RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
08/08/2014delivered to governor
08/09/2014signed chap.248
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A10144 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10144
 
SPONSOR: Rules (O'Donnell)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to speed limits   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To improve pedestrian, bicyclist and motor vehicle occupant safety by authorizing the City of New York to establish a 25 mile per hour city- wide speed limit.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one renumbers paragraph 26 of subdivision (a) of § 1642 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) as paragraph 27, and adds a new paragraph 26 to authorize cities having a population of one million or more to establish speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such city or within designated areas of such city no lower than 25 miles per hour (mph), provided that the city must give written notice to the community board(s) with jurisdiction over the area in which the lower speed limit would apply, and an opportunity to comment, if the reduction exceeds five mph. Section two amends paragraph 27 of subdivision (a) of § l642 of the VTL to require biannual reporting by the city, beginning in 2015, on the results of using traffic calming measures and speed limits lower than 25 mph as authorized under current law, and to include in such report a comparison of accidents reported on such streets both before and after implementation of such measures and speed limits.   JUSTIFICATION: In New York City in 2013, nearly as many people died in traffic acci- dents as were murdered. The speed at which a motorist is driving corre- lates strongly with the likelihood that an accident with a pedestrian will be fatal. Early numbers from this year demonstrated the critical need for this legislation. When an earlier version of this bill was first introduced in mid-January 2014, there had been seven pedestrian fatalities in NYC from traffic accidents involving motor vehicles over the course of just 14 days. On one day alone, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, there were two such fatalities - one child and one senior citizen, both crossing streets in crosswalks. This bill, by reducing the speed limit on city streets, will protect all of New York City's pedestrians. The critical need for this legislation is further supported by Mayor de Blasio's recently released report outlining the City's "Vision Zero" action plan, which highlights the unfortunate reality that each year in New York City over 250 people are killed and nearly 4,000 are seriously injured in traffic crashes. Crashes often have multiple contributing factors including speeding, driver inattention, and failure to yield to pedestrians. The Vision Zero plan therefore calls for the implementation of several traffic safety initiatives to reduce preventable pedestrian and motorist fatalities. A multi-faceted approach is needed to address these dangerous driving habits, especially excessive speeding, and a key element is reducing the speed limit, which requires legislative action. Although the City has committed to pursuing several safety enhancements such as implementing engineering improvements at intersections, increasing speed enforcement on arterial streets and establishing new neighborhood slow zones, it also needs additional tools. One particularly powerful tool is the abil- ity to establish a 25 mph speed limit in the City. Studies have shown that lowering the speed limit, even by five mph, can have a serious impact in reducing the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths. Traveling at lower speeds can greatly reduce crashes because both motorists and other street users have more time to see each other and react safely to avoid potential accidents. And, if a crash does occur, the severity of injuries is greatly reduced at lower speeds. At 30 mph, the lowest default speed limit permitted by current law, there is a 1 in 5 chance of being killed. If the speed limit were lowered to 25 mph, the chance of an accident resulting in death drops significantly to 1 in 10. Another benefit to having a speed limit of 25 mph is the marked improvement in vehicle stopping distance. At 25 mph, stopping distance is improved by 45 feet (23%), which will allow many crashes to be avoided altogether.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
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A10144 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10144
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      June 17, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. O'Donnell,
          Silver, Mosley,  Jacobs,  Ortiz,  Rosa,  Davila,  Simotas,  Gottfried,
          Robinson, Millman, Dinowitz, Otis, Quart, Weprin, Kavanagh, Sepulveda,
          Pichardo,  Wright,  Scarborough,  Clark, DenDekker, Benedetto, Miller,
          Heastie, Simanowitz, Glick, Weinstein, Markey, Cymbrowitz,  Rosenthal,

          Crespo,  Moya,  Rodriguez,  Hevesi,  Arroyo,  Cook,  Farrell,  Jaffee,
          Lentol, Perry, Rivera, Rozic, Steck) -- read once and referred to  the
          Committee on Transportation
 
        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to speed limits
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Paragraph 26 of subdivision (a)  of  section  1642  of  the
     2  vehicle  and  traffic law is renumbered paragraph 27 and a new paragraph
     3  26 is added to read as follows:
     4    26. (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of  this
     5  paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
     6  fic)  in such city, other than state highways maintained by the state on

     7  which the department of transportation shall have established higher  or
     8  lower  speed  limits  than the statutory fifty-five miles per hour speed
     9  limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on
    10  which the department of transportation shall have designated  that  such
    11  city  shall not establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section
    12  sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, subject  to  the  limitations
    13  imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title, establish-
    14  ment  of  maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such
    15  city or within designated areas of such city higher or  lower  than  the
    16  fifty-five  miles per hour maximum statutory limit.  No such speed limit

    17  applicable throughout such city or within designated areas of such  city
    18  shall  be  established  at  less than twenty-five miles per hour, except
    19  that school speed limits may be established  at  no  less  than  fifteen
    20  miles  per  hour  pursuant  to the provisions of section sixteen hundred
    21  forty-three of this article.
    22    (b) A city shall not lower a speed limit by more than five  miles  per
    23  hour pursuant to this paragraph unless such city provides written notice
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15573-03-4

        A. 10144                            2
 

     1  and an opportunity to comment to the community board or community boards
     2  established  pursuant  to  section  twenty-eight hundred of the New York
     3  city charter with jurisdiction over the area in which  the  lower  speed
     4  limit  shall  apply.  Such notice may be provided by electronic mail and
     5  shall be provided sixty days prior to the establishment  of  such  lower
     6  speed limit.
     7    §  2.  Paragraph  27 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the vehicle
     8  and traffic law, as added by chapter 499 of the  laws  of  1999  and  as
     9  renumbered by section one of this act, is amended to read as follows:
    10    27.  (a) Establishment of maximum speed limits below twenty-five miles
    11  per hour at which motor vehicles may  proceed  on  or  along  designated
    12  highways within such city for the explicit purpose of implementing traf-

    13  fic  calming measures as such term is defined herein; provided, however,
    14  that no speed limit shall be set below fifteen miles per hour nor  shall
    15  such  speed limit be established where the traffic calming measure to be
    16  implemented consists solely of a traffic control sign.  Establishment of
    17  such a speed limit shall, where applicable, be in  compliance  with  the
    18  provisions  of  sections sixteen hundred twenty-four and sixteen hundred
    19  eighty-four of this chapter. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to
    20  alter or affect the establishment of school speed limits pursuant to the
    21  provisions of section sixteen hundred forty-three of this  article.  For
    22  the  purposes  of  this paragraph, "traffic calming measures" shall mean
    23  any physical engineering measure or measures that  reduce  the  negative
    24  effects  of  motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior and improve condi-

    25  tions for non-motorized street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.
    26    (b) Any city establishing maximum speed limits below twenty-five miles
    27  per hour pursuant to clause (i) of  this  subparagraph  shall  submit  a
    28  report  to  the  governor, the temporary president of the senate and the
    29  speaker of the assembly on or before March  first,  two  thousand  [two]
    30  fifteen  and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic calm-
    31  ing measures and speed limits lower than twenty-five miles per  hour  as
    32  authorized  by  this paragraph. This report shall also be made available
    33  to the public by such city on its website. Such  report  shall  include,
    34  but not be limited to the following:
    35    (i)  a  description  of  the designated highways where traffic calming
    36  measures and a lower speed limit were established and

    37    (ii) a description of the specific traffic calming measures  used  and
    38  the maximum speed limit established[.] and
    39    (iii)  a  comparison  of  the  aggregate type, number, and severity of
    40  accidents reported on streets on which street calming measures and lower
    41  speed limits were implemented in the year preceding  the  implementation
    42  of  such measures and policies and the year following the implementation
    43  of such measures and policies, to the extent this information  is  main-
    44  tained by any agency of the state or the city.
    45    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    46  have become a law.
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