Van Bramer
May 26, 2016 Staff Report
Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is calling on Albany to lift a cap on traffic speed cameras, which currently sit outside only 140 of New York City’s roughly 2,000 schools.
New York State first installed speed cameras in 20 school locations as part of a pilot program in 2013; the speed camera program was then expanded to 140. Now, Van Bramer has introduced a resolution, signed by 24 other council members and the public advocate, that calls on Albany to lift its cap and permit speed cameras at every school.
“Speed cameras are a simple, effective way to save lives and make our streets safer,” Van Bramer said in a statement. “We’re calling on Albany to step up and do the right thing. By allowing New York City to install speed cameras at every school, we can slow cars down and keep our children safe.”
State lawmakers have also attempted to lift the speed limit cap. Just last month, Assembly Member Deborah Glick introduced a bill that would permit the cameras in all school zones.
Resistance to cameras has come from those who see it as a civil liberties threat or a threat to police jobs, as well as drivers. However, according to Van Bramer’s office, the Department of Transportation has found a 60 percent reduction in speeding violations in areas monitored by cameras.
The DOT also states that pedestrians struck by vehicles traveling at 25 miles per hour – the City-wide default speed limit – are half as likely to die as those struck by vehicles traveling just five miles per hour faster.
Existing school speed cameras also operate only around school hours, from an hour before the start of the day to an hour after it as well as before and after night or weekend activities.
Van Bramer’s resolution proposes speed cameras that would operate 24 hours per day.
“Turning those cameras off after school hours leaves kids across the city vulnerable to dangerous speeding when they use school playgrounds and ball fields in the evenings and on weekends,” Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement. “Now is the time to act on this lifesaving legislation.”
The proposed speed cameras would detect cars traveling more than 10 miles per hour. It would take a picture of the car’s license and the driver will receive a $50 ticket with no points on their license.
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36 Comments
Those damned speed cameras! They are just a ploy to get me to lay more taxes. Straight up, they are a tax on drivers. So are tickets issued by police officers for speeding, for that matter. And those red light cameras too! Those are just to make money off anyone who is driving. Oh, and don’t get me started on the massive fines for drunk driving! Those are just to balance the budget. Wait a second, how come I, as a driver, have never had to pay any of those things? Oh wait, that’s right, I don’t break the law! Oops. Never mind.
If you want people to slow down, put in speed bumps. These cameras exist for one reason only, to make MONEY! Liars liars pants on fire. Who do they think they are fooling? Put in speed bumps and change the lights during school hours so that no cars are moving in any direction and the kids have the right away for a full 2 minutes. Install “pick up areas” so that the parents aren’t all double parked. Seriously, let’s get rid of these legislators who clearly don’t live in our neighborhoods and have no idea what’s going on.
Rikki- most of the time i thineed your comments are insane, but you do make a valid point. These young adults, not kids, with the phones, ear buds, ect, they have to wake up. They don’t look ,they don’t pay attention, their in their own world. It’s the same with the bikes, they have the ear buds in, blasting music or talking on the phone and they don’t watch traffic. They cause a large percentage of these accidents. The bikes are worse, their in traffic longer you would think they would be more careful. Delivery guys too on their little scooters, they make their delivery, fly off the sidewalk into the street,most times going the wrong way. How come these bikes and delivery guys aren’t held accountable as a motorist is. They blow red lights, drive the wrong way, drive on the phone and never get tickets.
Pedestrians don’t cause these sort of accidents. Cars hitting them do. If people drove the speed limit (which is what the speed cameras are for), they would have time to respond and hit the breaks.
That would be 1700 cameras. All theses cameras, speed bumps, bike lanes, bus lanes, excessive stop signs, traffic lights, toll plazas, no turn signs all they do is frustrate and aggravate drivers and they respond with extreme aggression. So as the government tries to slow people down what the are doing in essence is making them go faster.
I go under the assumption that every inch of NYC is bugged. With that assumption I am sure I won’t be far wrong and eventually I’ll be 100% right.
I have an idea. Tell the politicians that we want to introduce a law that forbids the City from getting the money and puts the fines into a pot for a NYC Lottery that will be paid out to some lucky winners. Their reactions should be priceless and we’ll really see if those politicians believe their own BS about it being all for safety.
Definitely need a traffic light and speed bumps at the corner of 47th Avenue and 42nd Street. That intersection is a nightmare for students at P.S. 343/The Lab School…and their parents.
again the parents are to blame for being on their phones and not caring if their kids get hit……..deal with that first
I am a parent to 2 small kids and I am someone who has a crash victim in their family (pedestrian crossing with the walk signal while hit by someone making a left hand turn). The culture of driving here is entitled, aggressive and macho. Literally every single day I see people breaking laws like speeding, passing other drivers on single lane traffic roads, running red lights and coming dangerously close to pedestrians. Sorry, it is not illegal to look at your phone while walking and it is also not illegal to wear headphones while walking. What is illegal is talking on the cell phone while driving, yet I never see any drivers ever admit that is a problem. Just today I was almost hit by a bus driver leaving PS150 who was talking on the phone while driving. The speed cameras will encourage people to follow the laws because the police in this city do not issue enough speeding tickets to deter the behavior.
yes it is illegal to walk and look at your phone or else stop complaining if some one gets hit or killed, tell the stupid parents pushing their strollers to look at the road and …learn to read….. pedestrians cause a lot more of their own injuries than you would believe
Nope, sorry, it is not illegal to look at your phone while walking. Speeding is illegal though, hence the speed cameras.
Pedestrians don’t cause their own injuries. A piece of metal weighing 2000 lbs and running into them is what causes injuries.
spoken by someone who doesn’t drive because if you did you would see daily how stupid pedestrians are now hat everyone has a smartphone.
ive been driving since i was 19 had 4 cars i put over 100,000 on each and the 5th is at 85K miles….ive seen way too many near misses in my life and
another bad crossing is the right turn at 48th and QB the pedestrians do not have a walk light yet still walk, just park a truck or suv on that corner and you cant see the dumbos crossing against the light especially when it rains.
-rikki it’s always the stupid who call others stupid. Queens Vo. Is not in Sunnyside but in LIC. Learn the boundaries of the areas you live in and post nonsense about.
the kids are not taught at home how to cross a street properly…who cares where they live…. i happen to drive by there a couple of times a week and its freakin scary how dumb they are…oh wait its a vo tech school not an advanced placement school.
waste of money…….you need some tough love with the stupid kids on their cell phones yapping away and walking without looking …..
go ahead just see the accidents waiting to happen at queens vo tech on 47th ave sunnyside every day …its really scary how close the kids are to getting hit because of their recklessness in crossing the street
Tough love according to you involves hitting kids with motor vehicles?
no it means holding the kid and stupid parents responsible for their own medical bills
The rea$on$ Van Bramer’$ re$olution i$ wrong are obviou$ to even the mo$t uninvolved citizen$. $peed camera$ in $chool zone$ that i$$ue ticket$ when no kid$ are pre$ent are a viciou$ money grab $cam, not a $afety i$$ue.
NO ONE should support this predatory money grab resolution.
James C. Walker, Life Member – National Motorists Association
Maybe around elementary schools this is ok, but if you’re a high school student and you don’t know how to cross the street yet, well maybe you’ve got bigger problems!
Why don’t they start enforcing the law that people have to cross at the corner, and not be jaywalking! That’s where the accidents are happening! I guess its easier to collect the $ from speed camera fines though, instead of having to pay the police to enforce the law.
Btw, i hope they’re devising a way to have this catch the bicyclists that are speeding through the stop signs & red lights as well! You want a fair share of the road, you get a fair share of the laws/rules as well.
Oh yeah, and maybe take the earphones out so you can hear the car horns honking at you, and pick your eyes up from your phones/texting so you’re aware of your surroundings!
Stop blaming the drivers!!! Yes, there are some bad ones, but the kids/pedestrians are more at fault!
Sunnyside, with these new corrupt politicians making these bs laws/plans, rezoning amendments, etc.. has never been such a sad & bad place to live!
All this “Do Gooderism” is covering a deep well of corruption. Thank God the FBI is after them!
Let’s hope the FBI gets Boy DeBlasio and his corrupt city council members.
Does he have an idea that doesn’t involve taking our money? You should be able to drive at speed limit past a school at night and not get a ticket. 10 mph at 2 am is silly.
We need cameras near the bathrooms while people are deciding which gender they belong to.
-Rocky Do you ever give the Fox talking points a rest? You’re such a weak minded imbecile.
This Rocky is a freak.. Who would want to use a camera to watch people ponder bathroom usage? Children no less? What a creep!
That’s funny
Free adult diapers for everyone… and be done with it.
This, it really isn’t that complicated. If you have a Peterbilt part use the men’s bathroom, if you have a Volvo part use the girls bathroom. If you switch parts see step one.
I pee in the ladies room and anyone who doesn’t like it can suck my d*ck!
No! This would out the closeted trans gender folks and infringes on privacy rights. I have seen a 6 foot man walking into the bathroom with a suit and tie and then walking out with a giant wig, pageant dress and stilettos at a fast food joint in the city.
Urinals in the woman’s bathroom and feminine maxi pads in the men’s bathroom is the future.
I wonder when the precise moment was when this blowhard Rocky decided he was a man.
I’m pretty sure these low speed limits are only in effect during school hours. That’s the way it works in other places. I can’t remember seeing 10mph. That seems really low.
Watch out for the one on QB by the Muslim school! Anyone know of others?
Yes, please. And more bumps. People drive like maniacs on our streets.