Bill Text: NY A02584 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that municipalities shall permit bicycle and running events on public highways and shall not charge unreasonable fees for such events.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to transportation [A02584 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A02584-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2584
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 24, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  LAVINE,  FAHY, D'URSO, COOK -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Transportation
        AN ACT to amend the highway law and the  vehicle  and  traffic  law,  in
          relation to organized bicycle and running events on public highways
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 316 of the highway law, as amended by  chapter  655
     2  of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 316. Entitled to free use of highways. The authorities having charge
     4  or  control  of  any highway, public street, park, parkway, driveway, or
     5  place, shall have no power or authority to pass, enforce or maintain any
     6  ordinance, rule or regulation by which any person  using  a  bicycle  or
     7  tricycle  shall be excluded or prohibited from the free use of any high-
     8  way, public street, avenue, roadway, driveway, parkway, park, or  place,
     9  at  any time when the same is open to the free use of persons having and
    10  using other pleasure carriages, except upon such driveway,  speedway  or
    11  road  as has been or may be expressly set apart by law for the exclusive
    12  use of horses and light carriages. But nothing herein shall prevent  the
    13  passage,  enforcement  or  maintenance  of  any regulation, ordinance or
    14  rule, regulating the use of bicycles or tricycles  in  highways,  public
    15  streets,  driveways,  parks,  parkways, and places, or the regulation of
    16  the speed of carriages, vehicles or engines, in public  parks  and  upon
    17  parkways  and  driveways  in  the  city of New York, under the exclusive
    18  jurisdiction and control of the department of parks  and  recreation  of
    19  said city, nor prevent any such authorities in any other city from regu-
    20  lating  the  speed of any vehicles herein described in such manner as to
    21  limit and determine the proper rate of speed with which such vehicle may
    22  be propelled nor in such manner as to require, direct  or  prohibit  the
    23  use  of  bells, lamps and other appurtenances nor to prohibit the use of
    24  any vehicle upon that part of the highway,  street,  park,  or  parkway,
    25  commonly  known as the footpath or sidewalk. No regulation, ordinance or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04604-01-9
        A. 2584                             2
     1  rule regulating the use of bicycles, tricycles or runners may  deny  any
     2  organized  bicycle  or  running  events,  or  any  organized events that
     3  combine bicycle and running from any highway, public street, park, park-
     4  way,  driveway  or place unless said authority can demonstrate an unrea-
     5  sonable hardship to its infrastructure or  its  residents.  Further,  no
     6  such  regulation, ordinance or rule shall impose an unreasonable fee for
     7  such use of any highway,  public  street,  park,  parkway,  driveway  or
     8  place.    The burden of proving that any such fee is reasonable shall be
     9  on the pertinent authorities.
    10    § 2. Section 1640 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by  adding
    11  a new subdivision (f) to read as follows:
    12    (f)  No  legislative  body of a city or village shall enact any law or
    13  regulation that prohibits the use of its roads to  bicycles  or  runners
    14  engaged  in  organized events that combine bicycle and running, from any
    15  highway, public street, park, parkway, driveway  or  place  unless  said
    16  city  or village can demonstrate an unreasonable hardship to its infras-
    17  tructure or its residents. Further, no city of village shall  impose  an
    18  unreasonable  fee  for such use of its roads. The burden of proving that
    19  any such fee is reasonable shall be on the city or village.
    20    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.