S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 8478--B

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 16, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL, MOSLEY, JACOBS, ROSA, DAVILA, SIMOTAS,
  GOTTFRIED, ROBINSON, MILLMAN, DINOWITZ, OTIS, QUART, WEPRIN, KAVANAGH,
  SEPULVEDA, PICHARDO, WRIGHT, SCARBOROUGH, CLARK, DenDEKKER, BENEDETTO,
  MILLER,  HEASTIE, SIMANOWITZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO,
  COOK, JAFFEE, LENTOL, PERRY, RIVERA, ROZIC, STECK  --  read  once  and
  referred  to  the Committee on Transportation -- committee discharged,
  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
  committee  --  again  reported  from  said  committee with amendments,
  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the administrative  code
  of the city of New York, in relation to speed limits

  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 412 of the laws of 2012, 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 that in the city

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

                                                           LBD13595-06-4

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of Long Beach, in the county of Nassau, speed limits may be  established
at  not less than fifteen miles per hour on any portion of the following
highways in  such  city:  Cleveland  avenue,  Harding  avenue,  Mitchell
avenue,  Belmont avenue, Atlantic avenue, Coolidge avenue, Wilson avenue
and Taft avenue; AND EXCEPT THAT IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK THE SPEED LIMIT
APPLICABLE THROUGHOUT SUCH CITY MAY BE  ESTABLISHED  AT  NOT  LESS  THAN
TWENTY-FIVE  MILES PER HOUR.  No such speed limit applicable on or along
designated highways within such city or village 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 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  THE CITY OF NEW YORK SPEED LIMITS MAY BE ESTABLISHED AT NOT LESS
THAN TWENTY MILES PER HOUR ON OR ALONG DESIGNATED HIGHWAYS  WITHIN  SUCH
CITY  IF  SUCH  CITY  HAS  DETERMINED THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFIC
CALMING MEASURES AS SUCH TERM IS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  SIXTEEN  HUNDRED
FORTY-TWO OF THIS TITLE IS NOT FEASIBLE ON SUCH HIGHWAYS.
  S  2.  Paragraph  26 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the vehicle
and traffic law, as added by chapter 499 of the laws of 1999, is amended
to read as follows:
  26. [(a)] Establishment of  maximum  speed  limits  below  twenty-five
miles  per  hour  at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along desig-
nated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of implementing
traffic calming measures as  such  term  is  defined  herein;  provided,
however,  that  no SUCH speed limit shall be set below fifteen miles per
hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traffic calming
measure to be implemented consists solely of  a  traffic  control  sign.
Establishment  of  such  a  speed  limit  shall, where applicable, be in
compliance with the provisions of sections sixteen  hundred  twenty-four
and sixteen hundred eighty-four of this chapter. Nothing contained here-
in  shall be deemed to alter or affect the establishment of school speed
limits pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen hundred forty-three
of this article. For the purposes of this  paragraph,  "traffic  calming
measures"  shall  mean any physical engineering measure or measures that
reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver  behavior
and  improve conditions for non-motorized street users such as pedestri-
ans and bicyclists.
  [(b) Any city establishing  maximum  speed  limits  below  twenty-five
miles  per hour pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall submit
a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and  the
speaker  of  the  assembly on or before March first, two thousand two on
the results of using traffic calming measures  and  speed  limits  lower
than  twenty-five  miles  per hour as authorized by this paragraph. Such
report shall include, but not be limited to the following:
  (i) a description of the designated  highways  where  traffic  calming
measures and a lower speed limit were established and
  (ii)  a  description of the specific traffic calming measures used and
the maximum speed limit established.]
  S 3. Subdivision a of section 19-177 of the administrative code of the
city of New York, as added by Local law number 6 of the city of New York
for the year 1996, is amended to read as follows:

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  a. The official speed limit for a vehicle in  the  city  of  New  York
shall  be  [thirty]  TWENTY-FIVE miles per hour except where an official
sign indicates that a different speed limit is in effect.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.