Tallahassee drivers will want to slow down near schools or they could soon be hit with a big fine in their mailbox.
City commissioners this week will consider language for a new ordinance allowing for speed detection devices and new signage in school zones.
That's because lawmakers earlier this year passed a measure (HB 657), since approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that allows the city to do it. Commissioners also will set a date for a public hearing on the measure.
The proposed ordinance would allow new features, similar to red-light cameras, to detect speeding in school zones and create a $100 fine for violators.
Speeding in school zones has long been a problem. Police and the city's Technology and Innovations Department recently did a traffic study at all Leon County Public Schools "inside city limits for one day during the proposed hours of enforcement," staff explained in the agenda item for the April 10 meeting.
It added: "The study revealed that more than one hundred vehicles exceeded the posted speed by at least ten miles per hour at each of the 29 school locations included in the ordinance. A total of 47,000 violations were observed during the study."
"It is anticipated that these violations will dramatically decrease with the initiation of the program," city staffers wrote.
Any school zone within the study that recorded over 100 violations is eligible for the new speed detection systems.
Here's how it will work: Under the proposed language, if someone is found going over a school zone speed limit by 10 miles per hour they will be mailed a notice of the violation, alongside a photograph of their license plate, resulting in the $100 fine.
The good news is violators won't get points on their license and will not see any increase in their insurance.
Out of each fine, the money will be split up as follows:
- The city keeps $60 for administrative costs and $5 for its School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retention Program.
- The Leon County School District gets $12 for "school security initiatives, student transportation, or to improve the safety of student walking conditions, including sidewalks."
- The Florida Department of Revenue gets $20, which goes into the state's General Revenue Fund, which lawmakers draw from for each year's state budget, and another $3 to put into the Department of Law Enforcement's Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.
What happens next?
The city also will have to design a public awareness campaign that includes a 30-day warning period before speeding tickets can be written, and posting of new signage about the speed detection systems.
Yearly reports will have to go to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to ensure compliance and let state leaders know if the program is working.
The city also will have to pick a vendor to supply the speed detection system. That will be decided at a future commission meeting.
If approved by commissioners, they will schedule a public hearing on the issue for their April 24 meeting.
Local school zones that clocked more than a thousand speeders in a single day
According to a new Florida law, any school zone that saw more than 100 speeders in a single day could be eligible for the program that fines speeders by mail. Under the test, almost every local school qualified and the schools listed below clocked more than a thousand speeding vehicles in a single day. Here's a breakdown.
- Amos P. Godby High School, W. Tharpe St. - 4,486 violations
- Augusta Raa Middle School, ML King Jr Blvd. - 1,138 violations
- Buck Lake Elementary School, Buck Lake Rd. - 2,082 violations; Pedrick Rd. - 1,650 violations
- Desoto Trail Elementary School, Kerry Forest Pkwy. - 2,928 violations
- Fairview Middle School, Paul Russell Rd. - 1,650 violations, Tram Rd. - 1,283 violations
- Gilchrist Elementary School, Timberlane Rd. - 1,782 violations
- Hartsfield Elementary School, Magnolia Dr. - 1,827 violations
- Hawks Rise Elementary School, Meridian Rd. - 1,646 violations
- Kate Sullivan Elementary School, Hillcrest Rd. - 1,201 violations, Miccosukee Rd. - 2,209 violations
- Oakridge Elementary School, Woodville Hwy. - 1,666 violations
- Pineview Elementary School, Lake Bradford Rd. - 2,097 violations, Springhill Rd. - 2,097 violations
- Roberts Elementary School and Montford Middle School, Centerville Rd. - 3,098 violations
- Ruediger Elementary School, ML King Blvd. - 2,836 violations
If you go
- The Tallahassee City Commission meets at 3 p.m. in City Hall, 300 S. Adams St. A public hearing on other matters is set to begin at 6 p.m.
Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email atAOtero@tallahassee.comor on Twitter/X:@ari_v_otero.
