Manatee County gets rid of school speed zone cameras
Manatee County abandons school speed zone cameras
FOX 13’s Evyn Moon reports on Manatee County Commissioners voting 5-2 to remove cameras in school zones after determining they were operating primarily as a money grab.
BRADENTON, Fla. - After more than 55,000 violations and thousands of dollars' worth of tickets, Manatee County commissioners voted to end their school speed zone camera program Tuesday.
Speed limit enforcement sign in Manatee County.
In a 5-2 vote, commissioners decided that these speed cameras were not serving their intended purpose and were more of a money grab.
This issue had been discussed in prior weeks, as residents complained and issued appeals for tickets they had been issued.
The backstory:
Some even complained that the cameras were faulty, ticketed during off hours, and did not light up to warn drivers.
Commissioner Bob McCann led the issue at tonight’s meeting, ultimately terminating the program altogether. Two commissioners did vote against terminating it.
"What I want to do is, I want to stop this camera program altogether. It's not serving its intended purpose. The public doesn’t want it, the sheriff doesn’t think it's valuable, and the school board doesn’t see it as any more protection as they already have crossing guards and speed zones," said McCann.
Manatee County Commissioners debate whether to remove cameras in school zones.
However, some commissioners still believed it was important to children's safety and voted to keep the cameras:
"I know I am part of that number. I got caught twice, (and) I paid my fines. I think it's important to note, for the record, people are having bad behavior through our school zones. 55,000 people are blowing through school zones," said Commissioner Mike Rahn.
What's next:
The removal of cameras in Manatee County school zones occurs at midnight on March 6.
WATCH: Debate over speed limits in school zones
The commission may revisit refunding the 55,000 violations, but for now, all citations issued through March 5 remain valid.
Camera in Manatee County school zone.
As one commissioner made clear, it is still illegal to speed in these school zones.
The Source: FOX 13's Evyn Moon collected the information in this story.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
- Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV
- Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android
- Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines
- Download the SkyTower Radar app
- Sign up for FOX 13’s daily newsletter