Authorizes the city of New York to establish reduced speed limits throughout the city and on certain designated highways

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends section 1642 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to give a city over one million residents the ability to set a speed limit of 25 MPH on streets that are not part of the State highway system. The city must provide local community boards with the opportunity to comment.

Section 2 amends section 1642 of the vehicle and traffic law to estab- lish that starting in 2015 and then biannually thereafter the City must produce a public report to the Governor, the leaders of the Legislature which it would post online reporting on what street calming measures and lower speed limits were implemented and the effects these measures have had on the number and severity of accidents on those streets.

Section 3 establishes an effective date of 90 days.

Justification

Mayor de Blasio recently released a detailed report outlining the City's "Vision Zero" action plan, which calls for the implementation of several traffic safety initiatives to reduce preventa- ble pedestrian and motorist fatalities. This report highlights an unfor- tunate reality - 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.

A multi-faceted approach is needed to address these dangerous driving habits, especially excessive speeding. That is why the City has commit- ted to pursuing several safety enhancements such as rapidly implementing engineering improvements at intersections, increasing speed enforcement on arterial streets and establishing new neighborhood slow zones. While these actions represent meaningful progress, the City needs additional tools that are impactful enough to significantly reduce the number of serious' injuries and fatalities on City streets. One particularly powerful tool is the ability to establish a 25 mph speed limit in the City, which can be the catalyst in curbing dangerous driver behavior.

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.

To illustrate this point, one needs to consider the following facts: if a pedestrian is hit at 40 mph there is about a 7 in 10 chance of being killed. At 35 mph, there is a 5 in 10 chance of being killed. At 30 mph, 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.

City streets must meet the demands of vehicles, buses, cyclists and pedestrians simultaneously. Being able to lower the speed limit to 25 mph would help ensure a harmonious relationship among all who traverse City streets and greatly increase the City's ability to keep everyone safe. In order to ensure this harmonious relation, this legislation would also give community boards a say when the city chooses to lower speed limits by more than 5 miles per hour by establishing a public comment period. Establishing a requirement for community board involve- ment would enable communities to have a say about such an important policy change in the City's transportation policy. Only by building consensus at the community level can we assure the long term effective- ness of these policies.

Where an even lower speed limit is warranted, on streets where traffic calming measures are not feasible, the City can improve this relation- ship even further by establishing a 20 mph speed limit. The City will have to report biannually to the Executive, the Legislature, and the public on the effects of these measures on accidents around the City.

Legislative history

This is a new bill

Fiscal implications

None to the state

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.