NYC Speed Camera Program Could Double In Size This Year

NEW YORK — Bad news for lead-footed drivers: A program using cameras to ticket speeders near New York City schools could more than double in size if Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets his way. The Democratic governor plans to include a proposal that would officially reinstate and expand the city's speed-camera program in his forthcoming state budget, his office announced Monday.

"There is indisputable evidence that speed cameras save lives, and as public servants we must use every available tool to protect our children," Cuomo said in a statement Monday.

The city has used 140 cameras to capture drivers speeding near school zones, who can get slapped with fines if they are caught going more than 10 MPH over the speed limit. The program largely lapsed for about a month last summer after state lawmakers failed to renew its authorization.

Cuomo's proposal would increase the number of affected school zones to 290, expand the area where cameras could be placed and provide for additional signage to provide notice about them, the governor's office said.

Helped by an executive order from Cuomo, the City Council passed legislation last August that revived the program and placed no cap on the number of cameras.

City officials have said the program has reduced deaths and speeding near schools. Democratic figures last summer blamed state Senate Republicans, who then controlled the chamber, for letting the program lapse and endangering kids. The Senate GOP leader, John Flanagan, has said senators wanted to renew the program without expanding it while also adding red lights and stop signs near schools.

"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 said.

The speed-camera proposal is one of several substantive measures Cuomo is expected to include in his budget, which he is set to outline in a Tuesday speech in Albany.

Cuomo's proposal for legalizing recreational marijuana will reportedly be a piece of the budget. The plan will also include a ban on plastic bags, election reforms and a measure to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21, the governor's office has said.

The state Legislature is supposed to approve a budget by April 1, which is the start of the state’s fiscal year.

(Lead image: Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at Barnard College on Jan. 9, 2019. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)