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Why are traffic cameras in New York City turned off when the driver is at the highest speed?


A discreet camera captures 435 speeding motorists each day in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx.

It’s one of New York City’s newest and busiest traffic cameras, handing out $50 tickets to anyone who bypasses the 25 mph speed limit near a school. And it plays an important role in the city’s fight against the pandemic acceleration and reckless driving led to the highest level of traffic death for eight years.

But cameras have to be off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and on weekends because state law was passed 150 miles away in Albany — despite nearly 60 percent of fatal crashes across the city in the Atlantic. translation occurred during those hours. The law links camera use to school hours.

“Speeding happens 24 hours a day in the city, but our cameras go to sleep between 10 and 6,” said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group. weekend,” said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group.

As of May 12 this year, 80 people – including 37 pedestrians, 28 drivers and passengers – have been killed in crashes across the city, up 14% from the same period last year.

Albany has long-term control through a variety of policies that affect the lives of nearly 9 million residents of New York City, from one ban single-use plastic bags at grocery stores and retail stores to a congestion charge for drivers in the busiest parts of Manhattan. Its enduring reach stems from the New York State Constitution, which the courts have interpreted as giving the state a great deal of power over local government.

“In every state, cities are creatures of state law,” explains Noah Kazis, a legal researcher who studies traffic issues. “Cities only have the powers that the states give them. And Albany can be quite stingy with those powers when it wants to.”

Mayor Eric Adams and Ydanis Rodriguez, the traffic commissioners, have sought to gain control of the city’s network of nearly 2,000 speed cameras and other key traffic enforcement powers, including setting limits. speeds across the city, away from state legislators in recent weeks.

The city’s push for local control – known as “house rule” in legislative parlance – has the backing of Governor Kathy Hochul, who recently spoke at a news conference. transportation, “I think the state has too much power over some of these decisions.”

But as the current Albany session is scheduled to end on June 2, these New York City traffic enforcement agencies remain under state control. Mr. Adams, who was visit the National Assembly Building twice this year to discuss the city’s priorities with lawmakers, has drawn criticism from some who have described his lobbying efforts in Albany as a bad one. bad.

Political aides and lobbyists have called the city’s effort to regain family rule fragmentary, disorganized and last-minute. A bill on the matter has yet to be introduced as of this week, although city officials said they have proposed bill language.

Congressman William Magnarelli, a Democrat from Syracuse who serves as chairman of the Congressional Transportation Committee, said he told city officials he needed a bill to review before going away. than. “We’re going to take a close look at everything and start from there,” he said.

Although state legislators sometimes handing over power to the city — notably handing over mayor control of public schools to Michael R. Bloomberg in 2002 — “it doesn’t happen all the time,” said Clayton P. Gillette, a professor at New York University School of Law. “The Legislature wants to maintain its prerogative.”

Instead, state legislators often use their power over the city as a bargaining chip in negotiations, including making concessions on unrelated issues. Even the mayor’s control of schools comes with constraints: City officials still have to periodically lobby to renew it, as they have to this year before they can. it expires on 30/6.

“It’s part of the dysfunction in our state government and is counterproductive and damaging to the state,” said Rachael Fauss, a senior research analyst at Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group. New York City.

Of course, New York City still has a lot to say with its more than 6,000 miles of streets. Samuel I. Schwartz, the city’s former traffic commissioner, said the city will decide where to place traffic lights, bus and bike lanes and parking lots. “The city sets the rules for about 95 percent of what a motorist encounters,” he said.

But as the city increasingly relies on cameras to enforce speed limits, especially during the pandemic, a city-mandated but state-run camera program began in 20 school districts on Wednesday. in 2013 expanded to 750 school districts, effectively wiping out 5 districts.

When the cameras catch a vehicle speeding more than 10 mph, the registered owner will be fined $50. Last year, the cameras issued 4,369,250 tickets, up from 1,287,968 tickets last year. 2017.

Red light cameras, starting in 1993, expanded much more slowly to 223 cameras at 150 intersections. Last year, red-light cameras issued 555,442 tickets, up from 538,541 tickets in 2017.

By controlling these cameras, city officials say they will be able to change quickly in response to a traffic crisis.

Studies have shown that well designed camera program can prevent drivers from running red lights, reduce speeds by up to 65% and help prevent up to 44% of serious crashes, according to an analysis by the National Association of Municipal Transportation Officials.

In New York, one indicator that speed cameras are working is a significant drop in tickets after the first year, city officials said. For example, a camera installed in 2020 in the West Village in Manhattan is now issuing about 33 tickets per day compared with more than 300 tickets per day in the first month.

But speed cameras have been criticized by some drivers and elected officials, who say the program has become a way to fill the city’s coffers and argue there are other ways to slow down traffic with less punishment, like speed bumps and warning signs.

“It’s so easy to exceed 25 mph that it becomes an expense,” said Representative David I. Weprin, a Democrat in Queens who has received dozens of complaints from drivers. income. “It has become a gotcha problem.”

In 2018, the speed camera went dark for a short time after the program became entangled in partisan politics, and the State Senate, led by Republicans at the time, refused to renew it. Then Governor Andrew M. Cuomo ordered the cameras to be reactivated.

The city’s growing reliance on speed cameras has also drawn close scrutiny from the New York City Council, which has not taken a stance on whether to support the family rule effort. .

City Councilmember Adrienne Adams, a Democrat from Queens, said she was concerned that residents were more likely to be ticketed in neighborhoods where there has historically been a lack of investment in building redesign of streets with speed humps and other measures that make speeding more difficult. “I am really concerned about this singular dependence on sanctions enforcement,” she said.

Vehicles registered to a number of current and former Council members have also been getting hit by speed camerasone more than 20 timesas reported by the local media.

Ms. Adams suggested improvements to the camera program, including getting more community input on camera placement and using ticket money to pay for improvements. Street safety in the vicinity with cameras.

As it became clear that the city would not succeed in obtaining broad traffic enforcement rights during this session, there is now a new focus on expanding the speed camera program, which will expire in July. City officials are seeking state approval to operate the cameras continuously, place them outside school zones and set forth escalating penalties for repeat offenses.

City Council is working with the Adams administration and the state Legislature on bills to expand speed cameras, a Council spokesman said.

City Council is working with the Adams administration and the state Legislature on bills to expand speed cameras, a Council spokesman said. [May 20, 2022: After this article was published, the State Legislature late Thursday night reached a tentative agreement to extend the speed camera program in the city for three years and to keep the cameras on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, pending a vote and official support from the City Council.]

City Hall is also looking to renew and expand its red light camera program, which expires in 2024, for another five years, and introduce a pilot camera program to catch obstructing motorists. or speeding in a bike lane.

“If we had local control, we would do all these things,” said Meera Joshi, deputy mayor in charge of operations.

Senator Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat who supports the city’s efforts, said he has made it clear to lawmakers that the changes are crucial to improving traffic safety. .

“These are things we want to fix in the speed camera program while we make the broader case for the home rule,” he said.



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