Effective January 1, 2025, at 12:00 a.m. the speed limit in the City of Albany has dopped to 25 mph.

The speed limit was previously 30 mph and has decreased five miles per hour.

“It’s too slow. 25 miles an hour. Like people are going to be blowing at each other on the road. It’s not going to be a good. It’s not a good idea,” said one Albany resident.

But some Albany residents believe it will increase pedestrian safety.

“I think overall, you know, it makes people safer and safer to cross the street,” said another Albany resident.

Albany Police’s Chief Brendan Cox said the purpose of this change is not to give more tickets.

“We don’t have a mandate. We don’t have some kind of, you know, I don’t direct my officers that, hey, you have to write people a ticket. If somebody gets pulled over and an officer has a conversation with somebody, you know,” Cox said.

However Chief Cox is encouraging all drivers to slow down.

“We know from studies that reducing the speed limit, when people slow down, then crashes go down, that people are safer, that when crashes do happen, that the impact from those crashes, the overall impact of injuries goes down. We know that fatalities go down,” Cox said.

The new speed limit won’t affect all roads within the City of Albany. The following roads won’t be affected:

• Old State Road
• Everett Road
• All roads within the Port of Albany
• Washington Avenue from Exit 2 to Jermain Street
• Central Avenue from the Albany/Colonie line to Everett Road
• South Pearl Street from the Albany/Bethlehem line to Binghamton Street.