Manatee commissioner wants uniform school speed limit following installation of speed detection cameras
Debate over speed limits in school zones
FOX 13's Kim Kuizon reports that a Manatee County commissioner wants to examine the speed limit in school zones more closely. The commissioner argues that the limits should be uniform across the county. After installing new school speed zone cameras, Manatee County issued nearly 9,000 citations in December.
BRADENTON, Fla. - In Manatee County, around 9,000 citations were mailed to drivers by early December 2024 after new school speed zone cameras were installed. A Manatee County commissioner now wants to take a closer look at the speed limit in school zones and make them uniform across the county.
Local perspective:
Outside Bayshore Elementary School, there are signs that flash yellow and warn drivers to slow down when school starts and lets out for the day.
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"The speed zones here, I like them at 20 mph by the schools here in Bradenton that I drive through. In Kentucky, a lot of them are 30-35 where I’m originally from and that’s too fast," said Paul Blackburn, a Manatee County resident.
Blackburn also doesn't mind the school speed zone cameras set up to help keep students safe.
"The surprise is when you get through the ticket in the mail, and you have flown through a school zone going 5-10 miles over, and you get the surprise with the big old fine with in," said Blackburn.
![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox13news.com/www.fox13news.com/content/uploads/2025/01/932/524/school-zone-cameras.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Big picture view:
Manatee County Commissioner Dr. Bob McCann wants a uniform speed limit of 20 mph in all school zones across the county.
"If they’ve driven through that school zone by my house they would probably say 15 mph is just too slow," McCann said. "Some of the cars are idling at 15 mph."
At Bayshore Elementary, the speed limit is 20 mph traveling along 26th Street West, and it drops to 15mph when you turn onto Bayshore Gardens Parkway. McCann said that five mph difference is showing in speed zone camera tickets across Manatee County.
"We are catching people off guard, it’s the same thing with the privacy issue," he said. "If it’s the safety issue we are talking about, then 20 is a safe speed. Then if it’s a privacy issue we are talking about, then we shouldn’t have any cameras at all."
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What they're saying:
McCann said some residents go out of their way to now avoid school zones, fearing tickets if they mistake the 15 to 20 mph speed limit. He said for some, it’s become a financial burden.
"The thing I want to happen here, I want the safety," he said. "Twenty has been proven safe. Let’s get consistent with all the roads we control throughout the county."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with a Manatee County resident as well as County Commissioner Dr. Bob McCann.
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