STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2422--A Cal. No. 271 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 20, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, BAILEY, BRISPORT, CLEARE, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, LIU, MAYER, MYRIE, PERSAUD, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading 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. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Sammy's law". 2 § 2. Paragraphs 26 and 27 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the 3 vehicle and traffic law, paragraph 26 as added and paragraph 27 as 4 amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as 5 follows: 6 26. (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of this 7 paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf- 8 fic) in such city, other than state highways maintained by the state on 9 which the department of transportation shall have established higher or 10 lower speed limits than the statutory fifty-five miles per hour speed 11 limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty of this title, or on 12 which the department of transportation shall have designated that such 13 city shall not establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section 14 sixteen hundred twenty-four of this title, subject to the limitations 15 imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-four of this title, establish- 16 ment of maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such 17 city or within designated areas of such city higher or lower than the 18 fifty-five miles per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit 19 applicable throughout such city or within designated areas of such city EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02070-02-3
S. 2422--A 2 1 shall be established at less than [twenty-five] twenty miles per hour, 2 except that school speed limits may be established at no less than 3 fifteen miles per hour pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen 4 hundred forty-three of this article. 5 (b) A city shall not lower or raise a speed limit by more than five 6 miles per hour pursuant to this paragraph unless such city provides 7 written notice and an opportunity to comment to the community board or 8 community boards established pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred of 9 the New York city charter with jurisdiction over the area in which the 10 lower or higher speed limit shall apply. Such notice may be provided by 11 electronic mail and shall be provided sixty days prior to the establish- 12 ment of such lower or higher speed limit. 13 27. (a) Establishment of maximum speed limits below [twenty-five] 14 twenty miles per hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along 15 designated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of imple- 16 menting traffic calming measures as such term is defined herein; 17 provided, however, that no speed limit shall be set below [fifteen] ten 18 miles per hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traf- 19 fic calming measure to be implemented consists solely of a traffic 20 control sign. Establishment of such a speed limit shall, where applica- 21 ble, be in compliance with the provisions of sections sixteen hundred 22 twenty-four and sixteen hundred eighty-four of this [chapter] title. 23 Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to alter or affect the estab- 24 lishment of school speed limits pursuant to the provisions of section 25 sixteen hundred forty-three of this article. For the purposes of this 26 paragraph, "traffic calming measures" shall mean any physical engineer- 27 ing measure or measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehi- 28 cle use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized 29 street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. 30 (b) Any city establishing maximum speed limits below [twenty-five] 31 twenty miles per hour pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall 32 submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate 33 and the speaker of the assembly on or before March first, two thousand 34 fifteen and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic calm- 35 ing measures and speed limits lower than [twenty-five] twenty miles per 36 hour as authorized by this paragraph. This report shall also be made 37 available to the public by such city on its website. Such report shall 38 include, but not be limited to the following: 39 (i) a description of the designated highways where traffic calming 40 measures and a lower speed limit were established [and]; 41 (ii) a description of the specific traffic calming measures used and 42 the maximum speed limit established [and]; 43 (iii) an explanation of the reasons for setting lower speed limits, 44 how those lower speed limits comply with engineering standards, and how 45 they will ensure that motor vehicles can operate at safe speeds in a 46 manner that optimizes all road users' safety and convenience; and 47 (iv) a comparison of the aggregate type, number, and severity of acci- 48 dents reported on streets on which street calming measures and lower 49 speed limits were implemented in the year preceding the implementation 50 of such measures and policies and the year following the implementation 51 of such measures and policies, to the extent this information is main- 52 tained by any agency of the state or the city. 53 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.