NY Veh & Traf L § 1660 (2021)
2021 New York Laws VAT - Vehicle and Traffic Title 8 - Respective Powers of State and Local Authorities Article 41 - Regulation of Traffic by Towns 1660 - Traffic Regulation in All Towns.

§ 1660. Traffic  regulation  in  all  towns. (a) The town board of any town with respect to highways outside of villages in any such town,  but not including state highways maintained by the state except with respect to  subdivisions  six,  eight,  nine and ten, subject to the limitations imposed by section sixteen hundred eighty-four may by ordinance,  order, rule or regulation:   1.  Designate  county  roads and town highways as through highways and order stop signs, flashing signals or  yield  signs  erected  on  county roads  or  town highways at specified entrances to such through highways or designate any intersection except those where one  or  more  entering highways  is  a  state  highway  maintained  by  the  state  as  a  stop intersection or a yield intersection and order like signs or signals  at one or more entrances to such intersections.   2.  Upon  a  roadway  which  is divided into three lanes, allocate the center lane exclusively for traffic moving in a specified direction.   3. Order signs erected directing slow-moving traffic, trucks, buses or specified types of vehicles to use a designated  lane,  or  with  signs, signals  or  markings designate those lanes to be used by traffic moving in a particular direction regardless of the center of the roadway.   4. Determine those highways or portions of  highways  which  shall  be marked  to  indicate where overtaking and passing or driving to the left of or crossing such markings would be especially hazardous in accordance with the standards, minimum warrants and sign or marking  specifications established by the department of transportation.   5. Regulate traffic by means of traffic-control signals.   6.   (i)   License,   regulate  or  prohibit  speed  contests,  races, exhibitions of speed, processions,  assemblages,  or  parades.  Whenever such  a speed contest, race, exhibition of speed, procession, assemblage or parade authorized by a local authority will  block  the  movement  of traffic  on  a  state  highway  maintained by the state, or on a highway which connects two state highways maintained by  the  state  to  make  a through  route,  for  a  period in excess of ten minutes, such authority must, prior to such blocking, provide  and  designate  with  conspicuous signs a detour adequate to prevent unreasonable delay in the movement of traffic on said state highway maintained by the state.  (ii)  Prohibit  vehicles engaged in retail sales of frozen desserts as that term is  defined  in  subdivision  thirty-seven  of  section  three hundred  seventy-five  of  this  chapter  directly  to  pedestrians from stopping for the purpose of such sales on any highway within  such  town or  on  all such highways. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the operator of such vehicle from stopping  such  vehicle  off  of  such highway,  in  a  safe  manner,  for  the sole purpose of delivering such retail product directly to  the  residence  of  a  consumer  or  to  the business address of a customer of such retailer.   7.  Prohibit  or  regulate the operation and the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles in cemeteries and in public parks.   8. Provide for the removal and storage of vehicles parked or abandoned on  highways  during  snowstorms,  floods,   fires   or   other   public emergencies, or found unattended where they constitute an obstruction to traffic  or  any place where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited and for the payment of reasonable charges for such removal  and  storage by the owner or operator of any such vehicle.   9.  Provide for the installation, operation, maintenance, policing and supervision of parking meters, establish parking  time  limits  at  such meters,  designate  hours  of  operation  of such meters, and, except as provided in section twelve hundred three-h  of  this  chapter,  fix  and require the payment of a fee applicable to parking where such meters are in  operation.  The  town board of any town may exercise these powers on  behalf and at the expense of a public parking district with  respect  to highways outside of villages but within such public parking district, in which  event  the  fees  from  such  parking meters shall belong to such district,  and  the  cost  of  operation  and  maintenance thereof shall thereafter be borne by such public parking district.   10. Establish  a  system  of  truck  routes  upon  which  all  trucks, tractors,  and  tractor-trailer combinations having a total gross weight in excess of ten thousand pounds are permitted to travel and operate and excluding such vehicles and combinations from all highways except  those which  constitute  such  truck route system. Such exclusion shall not be construed to prevent the delivery or  pickup  of  merchandise  or  other property  along  the  highways from which such vehicles and combinations are otherwise excluded. Any such system of truck  routes  shall  provide suitable connection with all state routes entering or leaving such town.   11.  Temporarily  exclude  from  any  portion  of any town highway any vehicle with a gross weight of over four or more  tons  or  any  vehicle with  a  gross  weight  in excess of any designated weight on any wheel, axle, any number of axles, or per inch width of tire when in its opinion such highway would be materially injured by the operation  of  any  such vehicle  thereon.  Such exclusion shall take effect upon the erection of signs on the section of highway from which such vehicles  are  excluded, and  a  notice  that  such vehicles are excluded shall be published in a newspaper in the county where the highway  is  situated.  The  exclusion shall remain in effect until the removal of the signs as directed by the town  board.    Upon  written  application  by any operator of a vehicle subject to this section, the town board may  issue  a  permit  providing appropriate exemption to such vehicle, if it is deemed that said vehicle is  performing  essential  local  pickup  or delivery service and that a failure to grant such permit would create hardship.  Every  such  permit may  designate  the  route  to be traversed and contain other reasonable restrictions or conditions deemed necessary. Every such permit shall  be carried  on  the  vehicle  to  which  it  refers  and  shall  be open to inspection of any peace officer, acting pursuant to his special  duties, or  police  officer.  Such  permits  shall  be  for  the duration of the restriction imposed under this section.   12. Prohibit, restrict or regulate the operation of  vehicles  on  any controlled-access highway or the use of any controlled-access highway by any vehicle, device moved by human power or pedestrian.   13. Prohibit or regulate the turning of vehicles or specified types of vehicles at intersections or other designated locations.   14. Regulate the crossing of any roadway by pedestrians.   15. Authorize angle parking on any roadway.   16.  Designate any highway or any separate roadway thereof for one-way traffic.   17. Exclude trucks,  commercial  vehicles,  tractors,  tractor-trailer combinations,         tractor-semitrailer        combinations,        or tractor-trailer-semitrailer combinations from highways specified by such town board. Such  exclusion  shall  not  be  construed  to  prevent  the delivery  or  pickup of merchandise or other property along the highways from which such vehicles and combinations are otherwise excluded.   18. Prohibit, restrict or limit the stopping, standing or  parking  of vehicles.   19. Designate safety zones.   21. Designate a portion of a slope as a path for the use of bicycles.   22.  Order signs or markings to identify the portion of the highway to be used for bicycle travel.   23. Designate preferential use lanes for specified types or classes of vehicles.    24. Prohibit, restrict  or  regulate  the  operation  of  limited  use vehicles on any street or highway.   25.  Adopt  such  additional  reasonable ordinances, orders, rules and regulations with respect to traffic  as  local  conditions  may  require subject to the limitations contained in the various laws of this state.   26.  Make  special  provisions  with relation to stopping, standing or parking of vehicles registered pursuant to section four  hundred  four-a of  this  chapter  or  those possessing a special vehicle identification parking permit issued  in  accordance  with  section  one  thousand  two hundred three-a of this chapter.   27.  Declare  a  snow  emergency  and designate any highway or portion thereof as a snow emergency route.   28. Exclude trucks,  commercial  vehicles,  tractors,  tractor-trailer combinations,         tractor-semitrailer        combinations,        or tractor-trailer-semitrailer combinations in  excess  of  any  designated weight,  designated  length,  designated height, or eight feet in width, from highways or set limits on hours of operation of  such  vehicles  on particular  town  highways  or segments of such highways. Such exclusion shall not be construed to prevent the delivery or pickup of  merchandise or  other  property  along  the  highways  from  which  such vehicles or combinations are otherwise excluded.  (b) Each such town board shall cause to be determined, for all bridges and elevated structures under its jurisdiction, the capacity in tons  of two  thousand  pounds  which  the bridge or structure will safely carry. Upon bridges or structures of insufficient strength to carry safely  the legal  loads  permissible  by  section three hundred eighty-five of this chapter, the town board shall  cause  signs  to  be  erected  to  inform persons of the safe capacity.  (c)  Each  such  town  board shall cause signs to be erected to inform persons of the legal overhead clearance for  all  bridges  and  elevated structures on highways under its jurisdiction. The legal clearance shall be  one  foot  less  than the measured clearance. The measured clearance shall be  the  minimum  height  to  the  bridge  or  structure  measured vertically  from  the  traveled  portion  of  the roadway. On bridges or structures having fourteen feet or more of measured clearance,  no  such signs shall be required.  (d) Such a town board also may by ordinance, order, rule or regulation prohibit,  restrict  or  limit  the  stopping,  standing  or  parking of vehicles upon property owned or leased by such town.  (e) Any town with a population of seven hundred thousand or  more  may by  local  law  or  ordinance,  provide  for  the removal and storage of vehicles parked on private property upon request of the  owner  of  such private  property,  where such vehicles constitute an obstruction to the private property owner's right  of  ingress  and  egress,  and  for  the payment  of reasonable charges for such removal and storage by the owner or operator of any such vehicle. Such local law or  ordinance  shall  be applicable only in the unincorporated areas of such town.  (f) No town shall enact any local law or ordinance to prohibit the use of sidewalks by persons with disabilities who use either a wheelchair or an  electrically-driven  mobility  assistance  device  being operated or driven by such person.