PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — There is a new push on the Treasure Coast to get drivers to slow down.
WPTV looked at the numbers to see what kind of impact the changes are having on drivers.
Port St. Lucie police officer Robert Voegtlin was set up Wednesday on a stretch of Floresta Drive in Port St. Lucie to watch for speeders.
This 20-year veteran officer said the road right now is full of potential distractions.
"Due to all the construction, there are workers present," Voegtlin said. "During school dismissal, before and after, it drops down to 20 mph."
The city underwent a big push last year to get drivers to tap the brakes. All neighborhood roads now have a speed limit of 25 mph, which is down from 30 mph.
"Neighborhoods have gotten more built out, so consequently we've lowered the speed limit to improve safety, lower the risk of someone getting injured severely or killed," Port St. Lucie police Chief Richard Del Toro.
Del Toro said the No. 1 complaint that comes into his department is speeding, so the city's traffic unit is out there watching.
In 2022, the city wrote 49,346 citations and warnings for all traffic violations. That figure includes speeding and averages about 135 citations every day.
To date this year, the pace is lower with 32,130 citations.
Region St Lucie County
New speed limit signs to be installed on Indian River Drive in St. Lucie County
"I can tell you it's not all on Crosstown Parkway. It's all over the city," Del Toro said. "Every one of our officers is trained in traffic enforcement. They do a great job. We look at their statistics. There are no quotas here."
Reduced speed limits are also happening on Indian River Drive — a popular road in St. Lucie County.
The most recent change took place in May when after years of deadly crashes on the road the speed limit was dropped from 35 to 25 mph.
The numbers from the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office show a dramatic increase in citations and warnings through the first part of this year, which is on pace to surpass the figures in 2022.
Despite that, Indian River Drive resident Sherri Evinrude said not much has changed in the last three months. In fact, she wonders if the speed limit was dropped too much.
"People are trying to pass me," Evinrude said. "What's going to happen is there are going to be more head-on collisions or t-bones as people are trying to pass."
Law enforcement is stressing these efforts aren't about writing tickets but continuing to educate the motoring public.
