On Wednesday, New York Governor Pataki signed legislation permitting New York City to set local speed limits as low as 15 miles per hour in conjunction with installation of traffic calming street designs. The legislature approved the measure in August (MTR #232). As the Governor's office pointed out, "The new law is intended to permit the development of a more effective range of traffic calming measures premised upon a much lower rate of vehicle speed. The measure is fundamental to improving pedestrian and bicycle safety on city streets by allowing the Dept. of Transportation to design more effective traffic calming devices for less than a 30 mile per hour speed limit." If the city takes advantage of its new authority, the law requires it to submit a report on the lower limits' results to the Governor and legislature in 2002. The slow speed legislation was originally sponsored by Assemblywoman Deborah Glick of Manhattan and State Senator Frank Padavan of Queens.

Still, traffic calming in the city faces continuing challenges. News reports this summer suggested that New York City DOT and community boards were raising the bar for neighborhood proposals for speed hump installation, and key staff have left the city offices responsible for bicycle and pedestrian planning.

On the other hand, Transportation Alternatives, which shepherded the bill through legislative minefields in both NYC and Albany, and neighborhood groups that back traffic calming are hopeful the city will use the new law to expand its traffic and pedestrian safety efforts. NYC has 1,000 outstanding requests for speed humps or other traffic calming devices despite installing more than 300 humps in the last three years.

The legislation may be timely. The NY Post reported today that traffic deaths in New York City are up 15% for the first 6 months of 1999, after sharp declines in previous years.

Also Wednesday, Governor Pataki extended the authority for NYC's red light camera demonstration program, which was to have lapsed in December. The Governor's release noted that "the program has proven to be an effective traffic safety measure that prevents injuries and deaths" (see MTR #158). But the program is limited to only 30 cameras and will have to be revisited by the legislature again in a few years. A better move would be to grant the city unlimited right to use however many cameras it believes are needed to conduct effective traffic law enforcement.

In September, Governor Pataki also signed legislation to cut MTA transit fares in half for mentally disabled residents who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (see MTR #225) - the legislation was originally introduced by State Senator Padavan.

Link to Governor Pataki's statement