Leon County Commission Approves Speed Zone Camera Program

At the April 8 Leon County Commission meeting, elected official, citing safety concerns, voted to implement an automated speeding detection and enforcement programs within school zones. The approval directs staff to “initiate the program by drafting an ordinance for the Board’s consideration at a future public hearing.”

On May 8, 2024, the City Commission adopted an Ordinance to initiate an automated school zone speed enforcement program within the City (Attachment #1).  On June 19, 2024, the City selected a vendor to administer the program with administrative and traffic enforcement support from the Tallahassee Police Department.  In early February 2025, the City initiated the statutorily required 30-day warning period before activating the automated enforcement cameras and issuance of notice of violations.

The Tallahassee Police Department recently reported that 574 tickets were issued during the first week of operation of the program at two locations. The locations included Kerry Forest near Desoto Trail Elementary School and Tharpe Street near RAA Middle School.

Several schools in Leon County are located near the City’s jurisdictional boundaries and, as a result, the designated school zones for these schools include both City- and County-maintained roadways.  The results of the County’s school zone speed study found that 23 of 32 school zones (schools often have more than one school zone) had high instances of speeding more than 10 miles an hour over the speed limit.  The study identified 23,198 potential speeding violations within these zones over the course of one school day.

Based on the results of the study for school zones in the unincorporated area, county staff “projects that an automated school zone speed enforcement program would generate approximately $275,000 in annual collections with 60%, or $165,000, to be retained by the County to fund the program and other public safety initiatives.  Collections are anticipated to decrease over time as public awareness of the program increases and results in positive changes (reduced speeding) in driver behavior.”

The revenue generated from speeding violations is distributed according to Section 316.1896(5), Florida Statutes.  The following is a breakdown for each $100 fine:

• $60 is retained by the local government to administer speed detection systems in school zones and other public safety initiatives;
• $20 is remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue for the State’s General Revenue Fund;
• $3 is allocated to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund;
• $12 must be remitted to the school district where the violation occurred to be used for school security initiatives, student transportation, or improving the safety of student walking conditions; and
• $5 must be retained by the local government for the School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retention Program pursuant to Section 316.1894, Florida Statutes.