Dear New Yorker,
Earlier this week he New York City Council joined Transportation Alternatives and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign in announcing our support for state legislation that would authorize a speed camera pilot program in New York City.
Although we have passed a number of important measures over the years to help make our roads safer to travel on, the fact is, speeding remains the number one cause of fatal crashes in New York City.
We must do everything that we can to prevent future speeding fatalities like the one that tragically took the lives of Raizy and Nathan Glauber and their premature baby.
Speed cameras are a smart tool that will reduce speeding and help save lives, and we look forward to working with the NYS Legislature to advance legislation that would enable the City to test a maximum of 40 speed cameras at high-risk locations across the City for 5 years.
We would like to thank NYS Assembly Member Deborah Glick and NYS Senator Andrew Lanza for championing this important legislation, and NYS Assembly Speaker Silver for his leadership in securing speed cameras in the proposed Assembly budget.
Special thanks as well to Council Member Van Bramer for introducing Reso. 916, which calls on the State to pass and Governor Cuomo to sign into law this legislation.
The City Council will be holding a public hearing on Reso. 916 on Monday, March 18th at 2:30 pm in the 14th Floor Committee Room at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
We invite you to attend and to weigh in further on this topic.
If you would like to testify, please be sure to register with the sergeant-of-arms at 250 Broadway prior to the start of the hearing. You can also email your remarks to us at cquinn@council.nyc.gov, and we'll be sure to enter them into the record for the March 18th hearing.
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In other street safety news, the New York Police Department has begun investigating traffic crashes that result in critical injuries (and not just those that prove to be fatal).
In a recent letter to the City Council, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly outlined this and several other important policy changes that the department is making to its Collision Investigation Squad (formerly the Accident Investigation Squad.)
In addition to investigating more traffic crashes (which it now refers to as "collisions," not "accidents"), the Department will also be adding up to 10 new investigators to its Collision Investigation Squad – bringing the total number of investigators to 29.
According to the Commissioner's letter, investigators will be summoned "when there has been a critical injury or when a Police Department duty captain believes the extent of the injuries and/or unique circumstances of a collision warrant such action."
These changes follow hearings and correspondence last year in which City Council members were critical of the NYPD's response to crashes. They also come in direct response to calls from the City Council and the City's district attorneys to reform the way in which the Department investigates crashes.
We want to thank Commissioner Kelly for making these critical changes.
Special thanks as well to Council Members Stephen Levin and Brad Lander for initially calling for many of these reforms and to Council Member Peter Vallone for working with us to improve and expand the City's traffic investigation system.
Understanding the causes of a greater number of crashes will go a long way toward helping us keep our streets safe and accident-free. Please know that we will continue to make improving traffic safety in our city a top priority.
Thanks and enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
James Vacca
Chair, Transportation Committee
NYC Council