Mayor Vetoes Changes to School Zone Speed Limits

Earlier this year, in March, the Buffalo Common Council passed a resolution recommending changes to the rules that govern the City of Buffalo’s 83 School Traffic Zones, the speed limits in those zones, and the Speed Cameras that are set up to monitor some of those areas.

The Council recommended a new law to adjust the times at which reduced speeds would be required and enforced. The new law could have created different time intervals during school days when the speed limit would be reduced.

Drop-off - reduced speed limits of 15 miles per hour shall be in effect during the hours of 7:30am - 9:30am.
Pick-up - reduced speed limits of 15 miles per hour shall be in effect during the hours of 2:30pm - 4:30pm.
-Buffalo Common Council

Currently, school zone speed reductions are in effect for most of the day while school is in session. In the neighborhood of Buffalo that I live in, those hours run from 7:00am until 6:00pm.

MORE: School Zone Speed Cameras Are Back

Some residents of Buffalo had complained the City was engaging in a potential money grab, or other unfair enforcement by enforcing these speed reductions throughout the school day, and in some cases well past when the school day ends.

MORE: Buffalo Speed Cameras - They Got Me

On October 9th, Mayor Brown issued a veto to stop those recommended changes from taking effect. The cost to replace the street signs and a resolution passed by the Buffalo Public School Board was among the different reasons he cited for not agreeing with the changes requested by the City’s legislative body.

The cost to the City of Buffalo to replace the signage in all 83 school zones in labor, time and materials, would be an unnecessary expense, particularly in this challenging fiscal period, and would ultimately restrict the protections for our children and cause a greater level of public confusion.
-Mayor Byron Brown

The fine for speeding in a school zone is $50.

The original resolution passed with a vote of 6 to 3, which is enough to override the veto if the same number of Councilmembers maintain their opinion. We will just need to wait to see what happens when the Common Council reviews this again.