Extends provisions and makes technical corrections to school speed zones in NYC; repealer

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Andrew Gounardes says this is needed

Speeding motorists continue to put bikers, pedestrians, and other vehi- cles in unnecessary danger in New York City. The New York City Depart- ment of Transportation (NYC DOT) reports that the risk of pedestrian death from being struck by a speeding vehicle increases from 5% at a speed of 20 miles per hour to 45% at a speed of 30 miles per hour. From 2001 to 2023, more than 200 people were killed in crashes within the five boroughs where speeding was a major contributing factor, and speed- ing often goes hand in hand with other reckless behavior like red light running. Chapter 189 of the Laws of 2013 established a five-year demonstration program to allow a small amount of speed safety cameras to be used near schools in New York City at certain hours of the day. This law was renewed and expanded most recently with the passage of Chapter 229 of 2022, which eliminated the restriction that only allowed cameras to operate between the hours of 6:00am and 10:00pm during the week after DOT reported steep declines in speeding infractions in locations where speed safety cameras had been installed, benefitting all pedestrians and other road users in the surrounding area and not simply schoolchildren in the mornings and afternoons. In its latest annual report on the program, DOT reports that speeding in locations with cameras has fallen by a stunning 94% on average, result- ing in record-low levels of pedestrian deaths. Seventy-four percent of drivers receive no more than one or two tickets a year, suggesting that the cameras are efective at deterring repeat behavior, and school zones with speed cameras in NYC saw 14% fewer injuries and fatalities than control locations without cameras. In 2023, more than 97% of tickets were issued to drivers going between 36 and 45 miles per hour, and 50% of tickets were issued to vehicles with registrations outside of New York City and not to local residents. This bill renews New York City's wildly successful school zone speed camera program until July of 2030.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.