Jeff Klein

With this year's legislative session drawing to a close, Families for Safe Streets and Transportation Alternatives will hold a rally on Friday calling on Albany to allow NYC to place more speed enforcement cameras around schools.

In addition to lifting the cap on cameras, Cuomo and state lawmakers should end arbitrary restrictions on location and hours of operation, which make the cameras less effective than they could be.

A few races are still too close to call, but it looks as though Republicans will maintain control of the State Senate next year, likely preserving an alliance with the growing Independent Democratic Conference.

As Albany wraps up its legislative session today, Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders are taking no action to protect New Yorkers from a leading cause of death on city streets -- speeding drivers. A bill to expand the number of speed cameras in the city from 140 to 200 and loosen restrictions on how they can be used is not in the final package that Cuomo is negotiating with the leaders of the Assembly and State Senate.

Assembly Member Deborah Glick has put forward a revised speed camera bill in an effort to pick up more votes in Albany. The new version -- Assembly Bill 10652 -- authorizes 200 speed cameras in New York City, an increase from the current limit of 140, but nowhere near enough to implement automated speed enforcement by every school, as the initial legislation (A9861) would have enabled.

Andrew Cuomo may have won re-election, but New York was no exception to the national Republican wave in yesterday's elections. The GOP regained control of the State Senate, weakening its bond with the Independent Democratic Conference and keeping mainline Democrats in the minority. With last night's results, the landscape for transit and livable streets legislation in Albany has shifted.

Mayor de Blasio and Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg today officially announced the expansion of the city's speed camera program, which will eventually bring automated enforcement to 140 school zones across the boroughs. Today's event also underscored the fact that streets around schools won't be as safe as they could be, thanks to restrictions imposed by Albany.

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to urge key Senate lawmakers to get behind the bill to lower New York City's default speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour.