- New York State has passed new legislation that will allow New York City to lower its speed limits.
- The decision comes after a decade of campaigning by Amy Cohen, whose 12-year-old son was killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013.
- NYC will be allowed to lower a street’s speed limit to 20 mph, unless a road has three lanes that travel in the same direction.
Authorities in New York City will soon have the authority to reduce the default speed limit to just 20 mph (32 km/h), down from 25 mph (40 km/h). This change follows the inclusion of a version of “Sammy’s Law” in New York State’s final budget agreement.
Last year, New York City Council requested the authority to lower its speed limits in order to make pedestrians and, in particular children, safer. However, the effort ultimately failed after members of the state legislature brought up concerns over other safety issues on the city’s streets.
Read: NYC Will Charge You $15 To Enter Part Of Manhattan, A First For US City
Nevertheless, a measure allowing the City Council to introduce legislation to lower its default speed limit to 20 mph (32 km/h) was included in the state budget. Gothamist reports that there will be some exceptions, though. For instance, the city will not be allowed to lower the limit on roads with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction.
While the final version of the bill has not been published yet, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the new rule is a success for localities, and empowers them “to do what they think is right for their constituents.”
The legislation granting the city this new authority is dubbed “Sammy’s Law,” named after Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old who tragically lost his life to a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013. His mother, Amy Cohen, led a group of grieving parents who have been pushing for this law for years. She believes that lowering the speed limit will help save lives.
“The price I have paid to fight for this kind of change is not one I wish on anyone,” Cohen told Gothamist. “It’s been 10 years since Sammy died, and every day is hard, but days like this, when we are fighting for change in the name of those we have lost, is huge.”
