ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Several school zones in St. Lucie County will be getting new speed-detection cameras.
Officials just approved the technology to crack down on drivers going over the speed limit.
"People, they don't slow down as much as they should," resident Doug Landers said.
To deter speeding, nine school zones in the Fort Pierce area will soon be equipped with new speed-detection cameras. The system works a lot like a red-light camera.
"If a motorist is going through a school zone during school hours when the lights are flashing for people to slow down, it'll recognize that folks are going over 10 mph," Erick Gill, the communications director of St. Lucie County, said. "It'll take video of that license plate, and they'll be issued a citation from the sheriff's office."
Drivers could face a minimum $100 fine for speeding through these areas.
"Most anybody can afford that nowadays but $500 would be a little tougher, even $1,000 in a school zone," Landers said.
St. Lucie County parents like Brian Cottingham said it's a much-needed initiative.
"This road here by the school, I've been in my truck and passed by cars going 50, 60, 65 mph down this road," Cottingham said.
The school zone near his child's elementary school in Fort Pierce will be getting one of those cameras.
"What if my kid was out there?" Cottingham asked. "What if someone's not paying attention on their phone or something and comes flying down here at 55 [mph], and there's a whole group of kids in the crosswalk."
The county said both the sheriff's office and the school district showed their support for this effort. These nine school zones are just the beginning.
"We've seen an increase in speeders throughout the county but particularly in school zones, so we looked at county-maintained roads that were in school zones, and we're starting with those," Gill said.
The county is currently working on finding a vendor to install the cameras and they hope to have it up and running before next school year.
Below is the full list of school zones where the speed-detection cameras will be located:
- Angle Road at Fort Pierce Westwood High School
- North 25th Street at Forest Grove Middle School
- Fort Pierce Boulevard at Lakewood Park Elementary School
- Indrio Road at Lakewood Park Elementary School
- Jenkins Road at Independence Classical Academy
- Jenkins Road at Samuel Gaines Academy
- Oleander Avenue at White City Elementary School
- Orange Avenue at Orange Avenue Baptist School
- Weatherbee Road at Weatherbee Elementary School
