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Cuomo Wants More Speed Cameras In NYC But Won't Relinquish State Control
By
Stephen Nessen
and
WNYC Staff
Published Jan 15, 2019
Modified Jan 15, 2019
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Kevin Coughlin/Governor's Office
By
Stephen Nessen
and
WNYC Staff
Published Jan 15, 2019
Modified Jan 15, 2019
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The city's school speed camera program is currently operating on a work-around arrangement between Governor Andrew Cuomo and the city, after the Republican-controlled State Senate failed to renew the program last spring. But the governor now plans to introduce a more permanent solution this year, which would return control of the camera program to the state, and expand the number of new cameras from 140 to 290.
"With this new proposal we will not only reinstate the program the way it should have been done in the first place—we will also expand the number of cameras to protect more children and prevent needless tragedies and heartbreak," Cuomo wrote in a statement.
But not all city officials are impressed.
"What he really should be doing is giving the city the authority to run our own program so we can cover every single school," City Councilman and co-sponsor of the council's camera bill, Brad Lander, said in an interview.
While overall traffic fatalities declined in 2018 compared to 2017, pedestrian deaths increased slightly. The speed cameras, which are only located in school zones, have been shown to reduce speeding by 63 percent, and pedestrian injuries by 23 percent.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the governor's plan, which caps the number of cameras at 290, isn't as expansive as the bill his council passed.
"The Council was proud to enact speed cameras in time for the school year, a crucial measure that undoubtedly saved lives. I haven't seen the proposal yet, but it does not seem like an expansion of the current law, which allows for an unlimited number of speed cameras," Johnson wrote in a statement.
Just for before the 2018 school year began the governor declared a state of emergency, allowing a speed camera bill passed by the city to become the law. Each month the governor renews the emergency order. While the city's bill was nearly identical to the state's speed camera bill, it didn't limit the number of cameras to 140 school speed zones, effectively opening the door to an unlimited expansion. Mayor de Blasio had said the city plans to increase the number of new cameras to 290 this year, the same number Governor Cuomo is pledging now.
The governor intends to make the speed camera proposal part of his State of the State address and 2019 executive budget presentation, scheduled for this afternoon in Albany.
Stephen Nessen is the transportation reporter for WNYC. You can follow him on Twitter @s_nessen.
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Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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