2023 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.