BILL NUMBER: S5763

SPONSOR: OBERACKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act authorizing the town of New Berlin, county of Chenango, to reduce
the maximum speed limit along a West Shore Road in  such town to 15
miles per hour

 
PURPOSE:

To permit a municipal government to set a speed limit lower than
currently permitted on one municipally owned and maintained road due to
hazardous conditions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 authorizes the town board to establish by local action a speed
limit on West Shore Road at not less than fifteen (15) miles per hour.
Section 2 provides the effective date.

              

 
EXISTING LAW:

Current law does not permit a local government to set its own speed
limits on municipally owned and maintained roads.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The bill allows the town of New Berlin, in Chenango County, to set a
speed limit on one specific town road only (West Shore Road) below the
current state permissible minimum of twenty-five (25) miles per hour.
Officials believe that the road is difficult to navigate safely at the
current speed limit due to its nature. West Shore Road is a dead end,
approximately a half mile in length, with forty residences. It has many
curves that militate against the state minimum speed limit of 30 miles
per hours, particularly when spring and summer foliage obscure sight
distance.  The road, which borders a popular local lake with public
access, experiences a significant spike in traffic volume during the
tourist and summer season. Due to area residences and visitors, the area
has witnessed a jump in pedestrians and hikers along the road. Of forty
dwellings on the lake, thirty-five are across the road from the lake,
requiring property owners to cross the road from their dwellings to
access their waterfront amenities - an additional hazard during high
traffic volume at the standard speed limit. The lack of an improved
shoulder, pedestrians, and high traffic have combined to create a hazard
that has prompted the town board to request a lower speed limit.
Combined with enforcement, a lower limit will provide a safer community
for the residents, visitors and motorists in the area. Because of the
road's location, motorist traveling at a lower speed on the road will
not create a traffic hazard for any intersecting highways.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S7725/A9813 of 2019 referred to transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate