City Council's Speed Limit Bill May Be Stopped In Its Tracks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The City Council's effort to reduce the speed limit has hit a pothole in Albany as state Sen. Dean Skelos warned the measure might not come to the Senate floor for a vote.
New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg personally lobbied in Albany for the bill that would lower the city's speed limit as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
The City Council passed a "home rule" measure on Wednesday, asking Albany for the right to pass legislation that would apply to the five boroughs. Currently, the speed limit is decided by the state.
City Council's Speed Limit Bill May Be Stopped In Its Tracks
Now from Manhattan, Trottenberg had a message for Republican leader Skelos: "Obviously this is a high priority for the de Blasio administration.
"We're very hopeful that we're going to get a positive outcome up in Albany and obviously we implore our representatives up there to support letting the city set a default speed limit of 25 miles an hour," Trottenberg said.
The commissioner told Lamb the bill is an important safety measure that will save lives.
"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, you get sort of a 10 to 20 percent reduction in fatalities, so it's pretty important."
Last month, the City Council approved a package of traffic safety bills, which included the creation of more slow zones and tougher penalties on reckless motorists and cab drivers.
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