S 544: Provides that the town board of any town, exclusive of suburban towns and towns having a population exceeding fifty thousand, may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation establish maximum speed limits on town highways which have been classified by the department of transportation as local roads and which are outside of villages.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 544 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. STEC -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing speed limits in towns The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1622 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 2 chapter 420 of the laws of 1968, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 563 3 of the laws of 2002, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 496 of the laws 4 of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 1622. Speed limits on county roads and town highways. 1. The 6 department of transportation upon the request of the county superinten- 7 dent of highways of a county and the town board of the town or towns 8 affected with respect to county roads and town highways in such town or 9 towns outside of cities or villages, may by order, rule or regulation: 10 [1.] (a) Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed 11 on or along such highways higher or lower than the fifty-five miles per 12 hour statutory maximum speed limit. No such limit shall be established 13 at less than twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed limits 14 may be established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a 15 distance not to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a 16 highway passing a school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting 17 on the highway. 18 [2.] (b) Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed 19 on or along all such highways lying within an area or areas as desig- 20 nated by a description of the boundaries of such area or areas submitted 21 by the county superintendent of highways of a county and the town board 22 of the town or towns affected lower than fifty-five miles per hour stat- 23 utory maximum speed limit. No such limit shall be established at less 24 than twenty-five miles per hour. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02340-01-5 
 S. 544 2 1 2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this 2 section, in lieu of making a request of the department of transportation 3 pursuant to such subdivision, the town board of any town, exclusive of 4 suburban towns and towns having a population exceeding fifty thousand, 5 with respect to town highways which have been functionally classified by 6 the department of transportation as local roads on official functional 7 classification maps approved by the federal highway administration 8 pursuant to part 470.105 of title 23 of the code of federal regulations, 9 as amended from time to time, and which are outside of cities and 10 villages, may by local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation: 11 (i) Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed on or 12 along such highways lower than the fifty-five miles per hour statutory 13 maximum speed limit. No such limit shall be established at less than 14 twenty-five miles per hour, except that school speed limits may be 15 established at not less than fifteen miles per hour, for a distance not 16 to exceed one thousand three hundred twenty feet, on a highway passing a 17 school building, entrance or exit of a school abutting on the highway. 18 (ii) Establish maximum speed limits at which vehicles may proceed on 19 or along all such highways lying within an area or areas lower than the 20 fifty-five miles per hour statutory maximum speed limit. No such limit 21 shall be established at less than thirty miles per hour. 22 (b) No such speed limits shall be established except in accordance 23 with the engineering considerations and factors for speed limits set 24 forth in the New York state manual and specifications for a uniform 25 system of traffic control devices as such manual and specifications may 26 be amended from time to time, certified by a licensed professional engi- 27 neer who specializes in traffic operations. 28 (c) For the purposes of this section, the term "New York state manual 29 and specifications for a uniform system of traffic control devices" 30 shall mean the national manual of uniform traffic control devices 31 promulgated by the federal highway administration pursuant to subpart 32 (f) of part 655 of title 23 of the code of federal regulations and the 33 New York state supplement adopted by the commissioner of transportation 34 pursuant to section sixteen hundred eighty of this title, and the term 35 "town highways" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined by 36 subdivision five of section three of the highway law. 37 (d) Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to alter the 38 authority of the department of transportation to establish maximum speed 39 limits at the request of a town board with respect to all town highways 40 within such town outside of cities and villages pursuant to subdivision 41 one of this section, provided that no maximum speed limits have been 42 established by such town board pursuant to this subdivision on any town 43 highway functionally classified as a local road within such town. 44 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 45 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 46 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 47 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 48 completed on or before such effective date.