HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 936        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 531

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Denise Provost

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the establishment of senior citizen safety zones.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

1/14/2015

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

2/2/2015

Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.

26th Middlesex

2/2/2015

James M. Murphy

4th Norfolk

2/1/2015

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

2/4/2015

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

2/4/2015

Bruce E. Tarr

First Essex and Middlesex

 

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

 

Patricia D. Jehlen

Second Middlesex

 

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

 


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 936        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 531

By Ms. Provost of Somerville, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 531) of Denise Provost and others for legislation to provide for the establishment of senior citizen safety zones in cities and towns.  Elder Affairs.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 550 OF 2013-2014.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

 

An Act authorizing the establishment of senior citizen safety zones.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 85 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 21A the following section:-

Section 21B.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a city or town may establish, on ways within their control, one or more, senior citizen safety zones, which may be an area adjacent to a facility, publicly or privately owned and used as senior citizen housing, a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility; a community center where senior activities are conducted on a regular basis, or a congregate elderly residential facility.

A senior citizen safety zone may be established by a city council, the transportation commission of the City of Boston, the board of selectmen, traffic commission, or traffic director, in the manner set forth by municipal charter or other local law, in the manner set forth by municipal charter or other local law, for the adoption of traffic rules, regulations, ordinances, or bylaws. The locally-designated body charged with regulating traffic may take necessary action to reduce vehicular speed by reducing speed limits to not less than 20 miles per hour or such lower speed limit as is set for school zones and by installing signals or appropriate signs and restriping roadways, and may adopt The traffic engineer may adopt and amend rules and regulations to carry out this section.

The city or town shall notify the state traffic engineer upon the establishment of a senior citizen safety zone, and shall notify the state traffic engineer of any reduction of speed on a functionally classified local roadway.

This section shall not apply to any state highway, numbered route or functionally-classified arterial.

SECTION 2.  Section 17 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “hour”, in line 15, the following words:-

, or (5) within a senior citizen safety zone which may be established by a city or town as provided in section 21B of chapter 85 at a rate of speed exceeding 20 miles per hour or such lower speed limit as is set for school zones.

SECTION 3. Section 2 of chapter 85 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2008 official edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the phrase “schools zones,” in line 35, the phrase “senior safety zones.”