Tues May 26, 2026 -
Update & background on Village 25MPH Speed Limit/School Speed Zone Project
The current Village Speed Zone:
The Village currently has an “ Area Speed Zone ” for the entire Village - all NYS, Dutchess County & Village owned streets within the Village have 30 MPH speed limits. Having an Area Speed Zone allows the Village to maintain signs at the entrances of the Village abutting the Town of Red Hook which has a general speed limit of 35 (with exceptions set by NYSDOT*). A linear speed zon e is setting just a section of a roadway at a different speed (say a school speed zone).
Reducing only Village owned roads to a lower speed limit without the DOT reducing their speeds would require the Village to purchase, post and maintain signage at every intersection that has differing speeds - see diagrams below:
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The Laws regulating Village Speed Zones:
On August 12, 2022 Governor Hochul signed into law A.1007-A/S.2021-A Authorizing Municipalities to Reduce Speed Limits to 25 Miles Per Hour. Previously the default maximum speed limit throughout a city, town, or village could not be set lower than 30 mph. The law requires speed limits to be set in accordance with the MUTCD and be certified by a Professional Engineer who specializes in traffic operations .
The Village area speed limit is complicated by the fact that we have a relatively small footprint bisected by two NYS highways (199 & Rt9) and County Route 79 (Linden Ave), which require us to petition the state and county to implement lowering the speed limit on the linear sections of their roads (the Village has no authority** over state routes).
Trustee Progress:
Trustee Kym Bradley-Rickard, took on the project after she was elected under the title of “Village Speed Limit to 25mph Initiative” (first listed in the May 2023 agenda)
To comply with the law’s requirements the Village needed a professional Engineer to recommend reducing the speed limit. So at the Nov, 13th, 2023 meeting the Board approved getting a study from Creighton Manning an engineering firm to be paid for through ARPA funds.
After Trustee Bradley-Rickard left the board in early 2025 - Trustee Amy Smith volunteered to work on the speedzone project (first listed on June 9, 2025 Agenda as “Speed Limit/School Speed Zone”).
The packet to request establishing a school speed zone on 199 & CO RT 79 (Linden Ave) was first sent to the Region 8, North & Central Dutchess Coordinator Mr. LaRose - who forwarded it onto the NYSDOT Regional Traffic and Safety Group. Janet Warden, the RHCSD Superintendent, and Bob Balkin, the Dutchess County DPW Commissioner both provided the Village with letters of support which were forwarded to NYSDOT as part of the Villages request.
After Amy Smith left the board, I took on the project - and it is listed as “School Speed Zone/25MPH Speed Limit” in the May 2026 Agenda. As of 10:04 today, May 26th, 2026 ; I talked to Dana Young who shared that The request is being reviewed by a Regional Traffic and Safety Group “Investigator” which will notify us with their decision. That office had previously told Amy it can take 3-4 months to receive an answer but I will continue to check in.
As for costs of implementing the school speed zone, there apparently is a rolling NYState grant available for 1-time purchases that will improve traffic safety (in regard to speeding) that Amy Smith has identified as a possibility for purchasing any equipment requested by
the DOT (flashing speed limit notification signs etc). However we will not know what the NYDOT requires or approves until they finish their investigation.
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* From Town Website:
All speed limits in the Town of Red Hook are set by the New York State Department of Transportation. The Town cannot set or change any speed limits on Town Roads without the approval of the State DOT. The State DOT has the town roads listed with a Town wide speed limit of 35 mph, with the following exceptions:
College Park 25 mph Forest Park 25 mph Kidd Lane 30 mph Oriole Mills 25 mph Pitcher lane 40 mph Rockefeller Lane 45 mph
**Currently our Assembly representative SHRESTHA has a bill in committee (there is also one in a State Senate committee as well), to allow municipalities to have the authority to lower speed limits on state roads deemed particularly dangerous - however it is unknown if those bills will leave the committee, or if our state roads would be meet the criteria set forth in the bill.
Source Links to items mentioned in my summary:
Village Code: § 190-5Speed limits: https://ecode360.com/15547512 Bill A.1007-A/S.2021-A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A1007
Nov 13th, 2023 Agenda: https://www.redhookvillage.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11132023-421 Creighton & Manning Proposal: https://www.redhookvillage.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1102/2023-10-27Vlg-Red-Hook-Speed-Limit-Proposal_23-426R
Nov 13th, 2023 Resolution approve Traffic Evaluation Study:
https://www.redhookvillage.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1091/Resolution-to-approve-Traffic-Evaluation
October 6, 2025 Agenda: https://www.redhookvillage.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10062025-700 October 6, 2025 School Speed Zone Resolution:
Town Website regarding speed limits: https://www.redhookny.gov/m/faq?cat=19 Bills in NYS committees:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A1754 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S2713