If you haven't done so already, now is the time to urge key Senate lawmakers to get behind the bill to lower New York City's default speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour.
With just hours remaining in the current legislative session, it’s up to NYC’s two Senate Republicans, Marty Golden and Andrew Lanza, to convince Senate Co-Leader Dean Skelos to see this lifesaving bill passed. Neither Golden nor Lanza have responded to Streetsblog’s requests for comment, but Lanza told Capital New York today that his support for a lower NYC speed limit hinges on passage of a bill that would require stop signs near schools and increase fines for traffic violations in school zones.
While Lanza is horse-trading, Skelos is playing party politics. Senator Jeff Klein, who heads the Senate's Independent Democratic Conference and shares power with Skelos, says he expects the speed limit bill to pass, but Skelos has declined to say if he will bring it to the floor for a vote. Skelos indicated yesterday that Mayor de Blasio's efforts to secure Democratic control of the State Senate will factor into his decision.
Depending on what emerges from the Senate, the Assembly is likely to act on one of two bills: a duplicate of Klein’s Senate bill, or a different 25 mph bill sponsored by Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell. Each has the backing of Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Lanza and Golden need to hear from New Yorkers who want a lower, safer speed limit in NYC. When asked if she had a message for senators today about the 25 mph bill, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg focused on the public safety benefits. “For every five miles that you slow down the speed of a car, you have some pretty dramatic effects on what happens when you have a collision," Trottenberg said. "Even a car going five miles slower -- the driver has more reaction time, the impact is that much lighter, and you get a 10 to 20 percent reduction in fatalities. So it’s pretty important.”
Here is contact info for NYC's Republican senators at their Albany offices:
- Marty Golden: (518) 455-2730 and @SenMartyGolden
- Andrew Lanza: (518) 455-3215 and @SenatorLanza
