What you should know
- Legislation that would allow New York City to set its own speed limits and protect the lives of pedestrians is getting closer to being a reality.
- This is because Sammy’s Law, or Sammy’s Lawnamed for a 12-year-old boy who died after being hit by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013, is now part of the New York state budget proposal after the state Senate and Governor Kathy Hochul joined forces to include her.
- The state Assembly would also have to support it and approve it in the final budget. That’s why advocates of the law will hold a rally Friday morning on the Upper West Side to demand that lawmakers include this legislation in the 2024 legislative budget.
NEW YORK — Legislation that would allow New York City to set its own speed limits and protect the lives of pedestrians is getting closer to being a reality.
This is because Sammy’s Law, or Sammy’s Lawnamed for a 12-year-old boy who died after being hit by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013, is now part of the New York state budget proposal after the state Senate and Governor Kathy Hochul joined forces to include her.
The state Assembly would also have to support it and approve it in the final budget. That’s why advocates of the law will hold a rally Friday morning on the Upper West Side to demand that lawmakers include this legislation in the 2024 legislative budget.
The demonstration comes two days after an 8-year-old Hispanic boy died while crossing a Queens street with his brother and mother and was hit by a vehicle that was apparently speeding.
The death of the minor leaves a Mexican family in mourning. Rafael Pujols with the details.
Lower speed limits have saved lives in cities like London, Seattle and Toronto.
WHAT THE LAW IS ABOUT
Relates to establishing speed limits in cities with populations of more than one million people by relaxing restrictions so that cities can set speed limits below twenty miles per hour.
OTHER MEASURES TAKEN BY THE CITY TO SAVE LIVES
A report from the Transportation Alternatives organization published on Monday noted that, although the program Vision Zero of New York City has helped save lives on the roads since its inception 10 years ago, unfortunately it has not benefited communities of color and the Latino population.
Since its launch Vision Zero In 2014, which was created to save lives on the roads, deaths in majority-white community boards have decreased by 4%, while they have increased by 30% in majority-Latino communities and 15% in community boards. majority BIPOC communities (black, indigenous or communities of color).
Additionally, while whiter, wealthier communities have safer streets than they did ten years ago, low-income communities and communities of color have experienced an increase in road violence.
And according to the report, when comparing the first five years of Vision Zero With the second half of the program, it is clear that the program has not been fully or effectively implemented in lower-income neighborhoods of color.
Other data notes that 10 major community boards with the highest percentage of residents of color experienced a 20% increase in traffic deaths.
The report clarifies that this does not mean that Vision Zero does not work, but rather that it only works as well as it is implemented and prioritized. Vision Zero can make all neighborhoods safer, but it must be fully and effectively implemented everywhere.
The study showed that New Yorkers are being killed on streets the city knows are dangerous. The 1% of the most dangerous streets were responsible for 269 deaths in the period 2014-2023, representing 11% of the city’s total deaths. Despite the deadly nature of these 22 streets, many of them remain unchanged.
2024-03-15 15:26:17
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