As we reported last week, the flap over Mayor Giuliani’s pedestrian barricades and where city traffic enforcement efforts are best placed is kindling traffic policy proposals from a number of quarters. This week, Brooklyn State Senator Seymour Lachman proposed legislation to allow New York City to impose low speed limits on city streets to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. At present, state law prohibits local speed limits lower than 30 mph except in special cases like school zones. Lachman’s proposal closely resembles legislation sponsored last year by Assembly member Deborah Glick and State Senate Transportation Chair Norman Levy. The Glick/Levy bill failed to win home rule approval in NYC when then-city Transportation Commissioner Chris Lynn refused to support it (see MTR #140).

The slow speed legislation would enable the city to implement more effective traffic calming measures than at present, since devices like speed humps today must conform to the legal "design speed" of 30 mph, reducing their effectiveness in controlling speeds. The legislation would complement the positive reception city government is enjoying in communities hosting the few traffic calming installations carried out to date, and could accelerate the pace at which the city develops slow speed zones in neighborhoods and commercial districts.

An often-overlooked NYC traffic law enforcement achievement is a 30% reduction in red light running where NYC DOT has deployed red-light cameras. The camera is set to photograph the license plates of motor vehicles that run the red light. When the film is developed, a printing process affixes a copy of the photo directly to a summons that is mailed to the driver. State law allows the city to install 50 of the cameras. In 1997, the city expanded its initial pilot program to 30 cameras.

NYC DOT reports good results from the program all around. Due to a high conviction rate from the photographic summonses, the program is in the black. More importantly, it is reducing infractions and improving safety. At intersections where the city installed its first 18 cameras in 1994, red light running is down from an average of 30.4 instances per day to 21.2. The program deserves to be expanded by the city to all 50 cameras this year. The legislature has tried to keep its reins on the program by limiting the number of cameras and insisting on the program’s reauthorization after five years. In view of worsening traffic safety, the legislature should authorize NYC red light cameras for good and remove limits on their number.

Both red light cameras and traffic calming devices possess the strong advantage of building responsible vehicle operation and compliance with the law into the infrastructure of the street. Once built or installed, they are immune to the ebb and flow of policing priorities. But to receive the boost needed to get them in place in numbers sufficient to make a difference, they will need strong support in City Council and State Legislature, as well as in the city administration.