Speed cameras are coming to school zones in unincorporated areas of Leon County for the 2026-2027 year in an effort to crack down on speeding.
Cameras will be installed at these schools: Chiles, Woodville, Fort Braden, Deer Lake, W.T. Moore, Killearn Lakes, Chaires, and Canopy Oaks. The county is still looking for a vendor to provide the camera technology, expecting to install the cameras in summer 2026. Watch the video to find out how the cameras will work.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
School zone cameras will soon be in unincorporated areas of Leon County in an effort to crack down on speeding.
The conversation about installing the cameras began earlier this year, in April.
Every day, we see drivers speeding through school zones with signs and flashing lights. Its dangerous, and this is one of many things we can do about it, Leon County Commissioner David OKeefe said during a commission meeting on April 8.
In a recent traffic study, more than 7,000 violations were recorded in just one day across these schools.
Thats why the county plans to make these schools the first locations for installation: Chiles, Woodville, Fort Braden, Deer Lake, W.T. Moore, Killearn Lakes, Chaires, and Canopy Oaks.
With that high numbers, that tells us that a lot of people just speed through the school zone, which can be a potential risk to the children and actually any pedestrians in the area, Director of Engineering Services Charles Wu said.
The new cameras will operate similar to the citys detection model.
Violations will result in a $100 dollar fine. The cameras will vendor operated with a 30-day contest and pay period.
They’ll run 30 minutes before and after school and during the school day, except the county will flag drivers going more than 10 miles over the speed limit.
First of all, actually, nothing really changed. The speed limits remain the same. People just need to pay attention. Instead of a deputy or law enforcement officer out there on the street trying to give out tickets, under this program, then there will be a camera and some kind of speed detection system using LiDAR or radar to detect actual running speed, Wu said.
A breakdown of the cost?
Most of the fine will go to the county for public safety initiatives, Leon County Schools, and for school crossing guard recruitment.
The county expects the program to generate up to $1.8 million in the first year of operation.
The county is still looking for a vendor to provide the technology for the new ordinance.
The plan is to implement it during the 2026-2027 school year and allow for a 30-day grace period.
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