S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4655--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced   by   M.   of   A.  GOTTFRIED,  CARROLL,  SEAWRIGHT,  SIMON,
   GONZALEZ-ROJAS, BURDICK, GALLAGHER, PAULIN, DINOWITZ, EPSTEIN,  GLICK,
   HEVESI,  McDONOUGH,  DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Transportation  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

 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:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Sammy's law".
   §  2.  Paragraphs  26 and 27 of subdivision (a) of section 1642 of the
 vehicle and traffic law, paragraph 26  as  added  and  paragraph  27  as
 amended  by  chapter  248  of  the  laws of 2014, are amended to read as
 follows:
   26. (a) With respect to highways (which term for the purposes of  this
 paragraph shall include private roads open to public motor vehicle traf-
 fic)  in such city, other than state highways maintained 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
 city  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, establish-
 ment  of  maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed within such
 city or within designated areas of such city higher or  lower  than  the
 fifty-five  miles  per hour maximum statutory limit. No such speed limit
 applicable throughout such city or within designated areas of such  city
 shall  be  established at less than [twenty-five] TWENTY miles per hour,
 except that school speed limits may  be  established  at  no  less  than
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD03998-07-1

 A. 4655--A                          2
 
 fifteen  miles  per  hour  pursuant to the provisions of section sixteen
 hundred forty-three of this article.
   (b)  A  city  shall not lower OR RAISE a speed limit by more than five
 miles per hour pursuant to this  paragraph  unless  such  city  provides
 written  notice  and an opportunity to comment to the community board or
 community boards established pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred of
 the New York city charter with jurisdiction over the area in  which  the
 lower  OR HIGHER speed limit shall apply. Such notice may be provided by
 electronic mail and shall be provided sixty days prior to the establish-
 ment of such lower OR HIGHER speed limit.
   27. (a) Establishment of  maximum  speed  limits  below  [twenty-five]
 TWENTY  miles  per  hour at which motor vehicles may proceed on or along
 designated highways within such city for the explicit purpose of  imple-
 menting  traffic  calming  measures  as  such  term  is  defined herein;
 provided, however, that no speed limit shall be set below [fifteen] FIVE
 miles per hour nor shall such speed limit be established where the traf-
 fic calming measure to be  implemented  consists  solely  of  a  traffic
 control sign.  Establishment of such a speed limit shall, where applica-
 ble,  be  in  compliance with the provisions of sections sixteen hundred
 twenty-four and sixteen hundred eighty-four  of  this  [chapter]  TITLE.
 Nothing  contained  herein shall be deemed to alter or affect the estab-
 lishment 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  engineer-
 ing  measure or measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehi-
 cle use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for  non-motorized
 street users such as pedestrians and bicyclists.
   (b)  Any  city  establishing  maximum speed limits below [twenty-five]
 TWENTY 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
 fifteen  and biannually thereafter on the results of using traffic calm-
 ing measures and speed limits lower than [twenty-five] TWENTY miles  per
 hour  as  authorized  by  this paragraph. This report shall also be made
 available to the public by such city on its website. 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 and
   (iii)  a  comparison  of  the  aggregate type, number, and severity of
 accidents reported on streets on which street calming measures and lower
 speed limits were implemented in the year preceding  the  implementation
 of  such measures and policies and the year following the implementation
 of such measures and policies, to the extent this information  is  main-
 tained by any agency of the state or the city.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.