Speed detection systems could be installed in Alachua County school zones by next spring

Alachua County is moving forward with plans to install new speed detection systems to enforce speed limits near schools.

Commissioners during a special meeting Tuesday morning heard a staff presentation on a proposed ordinance that would allow the Alachua County Sheriff's Office to implement the system as early as next spring.

The decision comes after a study, conducted by a group called RedSpeed , found that more than 16,500 drivers exceeded posted speed limits by more than 10 miles per hour across 18 Alachua County school zones during the study that evaluated a 12-hour period in each zone.

Under the proposed ordinance, which is now allowable after a new state law gave municipal governments the ability to use such systems, including cameras, to enforce school zone speed limits, civil citations of $100 would be issued to drivers going at least 11 mph over the speed limit. The ordinance also would allow the Sheriff's Office to use the cameras to enforce the regular speed limit when school zone lights are not flashing.

Each $100 citation from the program, as required by the state statute, will be allocated as follows:

• $60 to the county, which will go toward vendor costs, the Sheriff's Office administration and public safety initiatives;
• $20 to the State Department of Revenue's general revenue fund;
• $12 to the School Board;
• $5 to the School Crossing Guard and Recruitment Program;
• $3 to the Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.

"Ideally it would be revenue neutral because we don't want to be raising a bunch of money on the taxpayers' backs just because they're running these lights," Commissioner Anna Prizzia said. "But if they are, I feel like we should dedicate that money to safety improvements around the schools."

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If someone who receives a fine does not pay the fine or present their case in front of a magistrate within 30 days, the civil fine will be turned into a uniformed traffic citation such as those issued by law enforcement.

Commissioners and Sheriff Emery Gainey were largely in agreement that the program should be phased in over time, beginning with just one or two school zones in order to assess staffing and budget needs. The camera footage will need to be reviewed before a fine is mailed out.

"I do anticipate this is probably going to be a pretty heavy lift for us, at least initially, both the Sheriff's Office and our county office with phone calls and frustrated people," Prizzia said.

The system has been operating for about six months at the one school zone in the city of High Springs, and Sheriff's Office Lt. Bill Beck told the board that High Springs Police Chief Antoine Sheppard spends about four hours of his day checking the video data. Beck said an official in the town of Lawtey told him he spends more than five hours a day checking video.

Alison Moss, the county's transportation planning manager, said the county can expect the number of violations to decrease as drivers are fined and learn about the new system.

"Every program that we've spoken with there's a definite learning curve and then people — there's a certain percentage that kind of maintains throughout the program, but a lot of the speeding does drop off," she said.

As recommended, commissioners directed staff to advertise the ordinance on school zone speeding enforcement, and to draft an interlocal agreement between the county and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, who will be tasked with procuring a vendor for the program.

The ordinance will come back to the board in about 60 days, at which time commissioners could give final approval.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Speed detection systems could be installed in Alachua County school zones by next spring