NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – State lawmakers finalized a deal Thursday that would extend and expand New York City’s speed camera program, keeping the cameras on 24/7 every day of the year.
Like with many issues, when it comes to speed cameras, the city is a creature of the state. For years, state law has mandated that speed cameras operating in 750 school zones across the city are to be turned off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as well as on weekends.
Now state lawmakers have reached a deal to keep them running 24/7 all year long.
“No parent or family or senior or any pedestrian of any age should live in fear of crossing the streets at any hour of the day, any day of the week,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the legislation in Albany.
The deal to get the cameras on full time will need to be approved by the City Council, which has scheduled a special session.
Council members will need to agree on how much to fine speeders and where the revenue from those fines will go.
There is some disagreement among members and also tension between members and the Department of Transportation over issues like the requests of specific neighborhoods.
Some key provisions were also kept out of the state bill that passed, including that the city will not get control over red light cameras. Streetsblog also reports it will not suspend the registrations of excessive speeders.
Mayor Eric Adams released a statement Thursday night praising the deal. He said the positive impact of the cameras is undeniable.
“Make no mistake about it, this is a major victory for New Yorkers that will save lives and help stem the tide of traffic violence that has taken too many,” the mayor said.
“We are investing a historic $900 million in street safety and redesigning 1,000 intersections across the city – but we cannot do this alone, and my team and I have been working closely with our partners in Albany for months to get this done,” he said.
The mayor said when the speed cameras are operating, there’s a 72% reduction in speeding and a 14% reduction in injuries. He also said state control of the cameras makes no sense.
So far this year, 81 people have been killed in traffic crashes in the city—a 19% increase over the same period last year, according to NY1.
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