NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2242

Senate Bill S2242

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Authorizes municipalities to establish residential speed limit districts with speed limits as low as fifteen miles per hour

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to transportation
Feb 13, 2009	referred to transportation

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2009-S2242 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6059
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1643, 1662-a & 1180, V & T L

2009-S2242 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes municipalities to establish residential speed limit districts with speed limits as low as fifteen miles per hour.

2009-S2242 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2242

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to
authorizing municipalities to establish residential speed limit
districts with speed limits as low as fifteen miles per hour


 PURPOSE :

This bill would authorize municipalities, other than the City of New
York, to establish speed limits as low as 15 miles per hour on streets
designated as residential.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Sections 1 and 2 would authorize the governing bodies of cities, towns
and villages to designate specific streets as residential streets and
to establish speed limits no lower than 15 miles per hour on such
streets.

Section 3 would prohibit drivers from operating vehicles in excess of
residential speed limits.

Section 4 would establish fines for violating residential speed

limits. For speeds up to 10 miles an hour in excess of a residential
speed limit, the penalty would be a fine between $60 and $200. For
speeds from 11 to 30 miles an hour in excess of a residential speed
limit, the penalty would be a fine between $120 to $400, or
imprisonment for no more than 15 days, or both. For speeds over 30
miles an hour in excess of a residential speed limit, the penalty
would be a fine between $240 to $800, or imprisonment for no more than
30 days, or both.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Current law prevents municipalities from setting speed limits below 30
miles an hour or below 25 miles an hour in certain circumstances. In
areas which are primarily residential, 25 miles an hour does not allow
drivers adequate time to react to potentially dangerous situations
which may arise in a residential area. For instance, a child playing
in a yard might suddenly run out into the road.

Unfortunately, too few drivers realize they need to drive much slower
than the speed limit to drive safely in a residential neighborhood.
This bill would allow municipalities to determine which streets are
residential streets and to establish appropriate lower speed limits.
Drivers would be made aware of appropriate speed limits with posted
speed limit signs.

Furthermore, some previously quiet residential streets have become
busy streets as drivers use residential streets to avoid busier
streets and traffic lights. In such neighborhoods, cars speed by at
speeds often greater than 30 miles per hour. Where children could once
play safely in their yards and people could walk their dogs or take
their babies out for a stroll have become busy streets, residents
worry about pulling out of their driveways and allowing their children
to play in their yards.

This bill would allow municipalities to designate streets as
residential and establish appropriate speed limits as low as 15 miles
per hour for such streets. The penalties for speeds in excess of a
residential speed limit would be the same as currently provided for
speeding in a school zone.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2007-08: S.2946/A.5355
2006:  S.6512/A.5204
2003-04: A.6263

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2009-S2242 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2242

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 13, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens. VOLKER, ALESI, FUSCHILLO, LARKIN, MORAHAN, SEWARD,
  SKELOS, WINNER -- 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 authorizing
  municipalities to establish residential  speed  limit  districts  with
  speed limits as low as fifteen miles per hour

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 1643 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended  by
chapter 563 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  S  1643. Speed limits on highways in cities and villages. The legisla-
tive body of any city or village with respect to  highways  (which  term
for  the  purposes  of  this section shall include private roads open to
public motor vehicle traffic) in such city or village, other than  state
highways  maintained by the state on which the department of transporta-
tion shall have established higher or lower speed limits than the statu-
tory fifty-five miles per  hour  speed  limit  as  provided  in  section
sixteen  hundred  twenty  OF  THIS  TITLE, or on which the department of
transportation shall have designated that such city or village shall not
establish any maximum speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred
twenty-four OF THIS TITLE, subject to the limitations imposed by section
sixteen hundred eighty-four OF THIS TITLE may by local  law,  ordinance,
order,  rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits at which vehi-
cles may proceed within such city or village, within designated areas of
such city or village or on or along designated highways within such city
or village higher or lower than the fifty-five miles  per  hour  maximum
statutory  limit. No such speed limit applicable throughout such city or
village or within designated areas of such  city  or  village  shall  be
established  at less than thirty miles per hour, EXCEPT IN A CITY HAVING
A POPULATION OF LESS THAN ONE MILLION BY THE LEGISLATIVE  BODY  OF  SUCH
CITY,  RESIDENTIAL  SPEED  LIMITS  MAY  BE  ESTABLISHED AT NOT LESS THAN

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00145-01-9

S. 2242                             2

FIFTEEN MILES PER HOUR ON  STREETS  DESIGNATED  AS  RESIDENTIAL  BY  THE
LEGISLATIVE  BODY  OF  SUCH  CITY.  No such speed limit applicable on or
along designated highways within such city or village  shall  be  estab-
lished at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed
limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a
distance  not  to  exceed  one  thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a
highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting
on the highway and except that within the cities of Buffalo and  Roches-
ter  speed  limits may be established at not less than fifteen miles per
hour for any portion of a highway within a city park,  AND  EXCEPT  THAT
WITHIN  A CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF LESS THAN ONE MILLION, RESIDENTIAL
SPEED LIMITS MAY BE ESTABLISHED AT NO LESS THAN FIFTEEN MILES  PER  HOUR
ON STREETS DESIGNATED RESIDENTIAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF SUCH CITY.
  S  2.  Section  1662-a  of  the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
chapter 563 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  S 1662-a. Speed limits in certain towns. The town board of any  subur-
ban  town  governed  pursuant to article three-A of the town law and the
town board of any other town having a population exceeding  fifty  thou-
sand,  with  respect  to  highways  (which term for the purposes of this
section shall include private roads open to public motor  vehicle  traf-
fic)  in such towns outside any village, other than state highways main-
tained by the state on which the department of transportation shall have
established higher or lower speed limits than the  statutory  fifty-five
miles per hour speed limit as provided in section sixteen hundred twenty
OF  THIS  TITLE, or on which the department of transportation shall have
designated that such towns shall not establish any maximum  speed  limit
as  provided  in  section  sixteen  hundred  twenty-four  OF THIS TITLE,
subject to the limitations imposed by section  sixteen  hundred  eighty-
four  OF  THIS  TITLE  may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regu-
lation establish maximum speed limits  at  which  vehicles  may  proceed
within  such towns, within designated areas of such towns or on or along
designated highways within such towns lower than  the  fifty-five  miles
per  hour  maximum  statutory  limit.  No  such  speed  limit applicable
throughout such towns or within designated areas of such towns shall  be
established  at less than thirty miles per hour, except that in the town
of Hempstead speed limits may be established at not  less  than  fifteen
miles  per  hour  on  any portion of a highway in the community known as
Point Lookout; provided, however, that no such speed limit in such  town
may  be established unless a majority of the residents of such community
file a petition with the town board of such town requesting  such  speed
limit  AND  EXCEPT  THAT  ON  STREETS DESIGNATED RESIDENTIAL BY THE TOWN
BOARD RESIDENTIAL SPEED LIMITS MAY  BE  ESTABLISHED  AT  NOT  LESS  THAN
FIFTEEN  MILES  PER  HOUR.    No such speed limit applicable on or along
designated highways within such towns shall be established at less  than
twenty-five  miles  per  hour,  except  that  school speed limits may be
established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a distance  not
to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a highway passing a
school  building,  entrance or exit of a school abutting on the highway,
and except further that in the town of Hempstead  speed  limits  may  be
established  at not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of a
highway in the community known as Point Lookout; provided, however, that
no such speed limit in such town may be established unless a majority of
the residents of such community file a petition with the town  board  of
such  town requesting such speed limit AND EXCEPT THAT ON STREETS DESIG-
NATED RESIDENTIAL BY THE TOWN BOARD  RESIDENTIAL  SPEED  LIMITS  MAY  BE
ESTABLISHED AT NOT LESS THAN FIFTEEN MILES PER HOUR.

S. 2242                             3

  S  3.  Subdivision (d) of section 1180 of the vehicle and traffic law,
as amended by chapter 432 of the laws of 1997, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  (d) 1. Except as provided in subdivision (g) of this section, whenever
maximum  speed  limits,  other  than  school speed limits AND OTHER THAN
RESIDENTIAL  SPEED  LIMITS,  have  been  established  as  authorized  in
sections  sixteen  hundred  twenty,  sixteen hundred twenty-two, sixteen
hundred twenty-three,  sixteen  hundred  twenty-seven,  sixteen  hundred
thirty, sixteen hundred forty-three, sixteen hundred forty-four, sixteen
hundred  fifty-two,  sixteen hundred sixty-two-a, sixteen hundred sixty-
three, and sixteen hundred seventy OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  no  person  shall
drive in excess of such maximum speed limits at any time.
  2.  Except  as  provided  in subdivision (g) of this section, whenever
maximum speed limits, other than school  speed  limits  AND  OTHER  THAN
RESIDENTIAL  SPEED  LIMITS,  have  been  established with respect to any
restricted highway as authorized in section sixteen hundred  twenty-five
OF  THIS  ARTICLE, no person shall drive in excess of such maximum speed
limits at any time.
  3. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (G)  OF  THIS  SECTION,  WHENEVER
MAXIMUM  RESIDENTIAL SPEED LIMITS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED AS AUTHORIZED IN
SECTIONS SIXTEEN HUNDRED FORTY-THREE AND SIXTEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-TWO-A  OF
THIS  CHAPTER,  NO  PERSON  SHALL  DRIVE IN EXCESS OF SUCH MAXIMUM SPEED
LIMITS AT ANY TIME.
  S 4. The opening paragraph  of  paragraph  4  of  subdivision  (h)  of
section  1180 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by section 7 of
part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  Every person convicted of a  violation  of  subdivision  (c)  of  this
section  when  such  violation  occurs  in  a school speed zone during a
school day between the hours of seven o'clock A.M. and six o'clock  P.M.
AND EVERY PERSON CONVICTED OF A VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH THREE OF SUBDIVI-
SION (D) OF THIS SECTION, shall be punished as follows:
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

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