SENATE O.K.'S RENEWING 65 M.P.H. LIMIT

Senate Bills Also Seek to Extend 65 Limit to New Highways

Tuesday, May 23, 2000

The Senate today approved measures to renew the soon-to-expire 65 m.p.h. speed limit on certain state highways and extend the higher limit to additional roadways to reduce travel time on roads deemed safe for higher speeds.

�Raising the speed limit to 65 m.p.h. has proven a safe and efficient way to speed travel between communities, without jeopardizing public safety," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno (R-C, Brunswick), an architect of the higher limit first enacted in 1995.

�This year, we should not only renew the law that raised the speed limit, but extend it as well to other highways so that more New Yorkers can enjoy this commonsense convenience," Senator Bruno said.

Unless the Legislature acts, the 65 m.p.h. limit will expire on Dec. 31.

"New Yorkers have demonstrated that 65 m.p.h. works, especially for these roads that were originally designed for travel at higher speeds," said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Caesar Trunzo (R, Brentwood), who is sponsoring the renewal law. "By acting now, we can help avoid confusion that could be caused by the expiration of this law and help continue to make our roads safer for commuters and other drivers."

The Senate plan would renew the 65 m.p.h. until 2005. Companion bills would authorize the state to raise limits on these additional highways, pending safety and engineering studies to ensure safe travel at the higher speeds:

* the Catskill portion of the New York State Thruway south of the Woodbury Plaza (Exit 16) (S. 6937 sponsored by Sens. Thomas Morahan, R-C, New City; and William Larkin, R-C, New Windsor); and

* Interstate 90 from Exit 8 in Rensselaer County east to the New York State Thruway�s Berkshire spur, and the portion of the Berkshire spur of the Thruway mainline to Exit B-1 (S. 5751 sponsored by Sens. Bruno and Stephen Saland, R-C, Poughkeepsie);
The following bills are expected to pass on Wednesday:

* Route 481 from the Interstate 81 interchange to Fulton in Oswego County (S. 3652A sponsored by Sens. James Wright, R-C-I, Watertown; and John DeFrancisco, R, Syracuse), and

* part of the Southern Tier Expressway from east of the Town of Lowman in Chemung County to the Pennsylvania state line, and from Chemung to Route 26 (S. 2094A sponsored by Sens. Thomas Libous, R-C, Binghamton; DeFrancisco; Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, R, Syracuse; John Kuhl, R-C, Hammondsport; Pat McGee, R-C, Franklinville; and Nicholas Spano, R-C, Westchester).

The call for renewing and expanding the 65 m.p.h. limit comes in the wake of a state report that found that highway safety improved following adoption of the higher limits in 1995. The Department of Transportation study showed a 29 percent decrease in the fatal accident rate on New York highways -- and an overall four percent decrease in accidents -- on roads that saw their speed limits increased to 65 m.p.h.

The bills must be approved by the Assembly.

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