NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – Neptune Beach will add speed cameras to school zones after the city council approves the new addition on Monday.
This means drivers will face a $100 ticket if they are caught going 10 miles per hour over the school zone speed limit — opposed to the $340 fine they could receive if a police officer pulled them over.
Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key feels this is another way to protect students.
“Neptune Beach is a coastal community and like a lot of coastal communities in Florida. We have a large pedestrian population that walks and bikes, a ton of kids bike and walk to school,” Key said. We want to protect them. We want to protect them when they’re out of school, but we also want to protect them as they get to the school.”
Violators would receive tickets in the mail, and the ticket would have a photo of the driver’s license plate and the speed they were traveling at the time.
The cameras would only catch speeders, not drivers running red lights or any other traffic violations.
The cameras would only operate during the hours school zones are in effect, that is typically 30 minutes before and after school. They would be turned off on weekends, over the summer, and during holiday breaks.
Parents and community members voice their thoughts about the matter.
“We feel it’s really a bit much and we say that’s not going to cost us anything, but I’m sure a lot of people will be fighting these tickets,” Charles McCue said.
McCue feels there is another way the city could address the safety concerns.
“I would just do what would work in the past. I would just not pay this third-party policing effort and just have a few cops out,” he said.
The money from the tickets would go back to public safety.
No timeframe was provided for when and where the speed cameras will go but residents will be informed before those changes happen.