City cautions: Signage, not flashing lights dictate speed in school zones
Editor’s note: The story below is an update to our print report. It includes additional information from Thursday’s Cape Coral City Council meeting.
If you rely on flashing lights to tell you you’re in a school zone, you may get a ticket — posted speed limits, not the flashing lights, dictate speed limits, city officials said Thursday.
Cape Coral City Council got an update Thursday on the city’s school zone traffic enforcement program and drivers had some input — they told the elected board they didn’t know why they got speed-camera citations when the lights were not flashing.
It doesn’t matter, city officials said.
“The speed cameras do enforce the speed limit between the lights flashing,” City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said, adding that students may leave school early. “We all know that kids are unpredictable in their movements.”
He said the responsibility of knowing the correct speed at the correct time is on the driver.
“They have to know how to maneuver through a speed zone. You have to know the laws. It’s a privilege to be a driver. When you go through a school speed zone where children are unpredictable, slow down,” Ilczyszyn said.
Some residents who shared their concern with the speed zones, as the signs and flashers are telling different stories. One man who, lives near the St. Andrews Catholic School zone, said he has received multiple tickets.
“The second ticket the school had already been let out – no longer in session,” Brian Bradley said, adding that public and private schools have different schedules.
Another resident who lives in Emerald Cove said there are four schools near that community and divers are having problems navigating through the system, as they all think only when the lights are flashing, they need to slow down. The signs, the resident said, have four different opening and closing times listed, adding to the confusion.
City Attorney Aleksandr Boksner said during both the drop off and pickup time for students there is a reduced speed. Under Florida statutes, the flashing lights are permitted, as well as signs, so in case the lights are inoperable there is still direction.
“To ensure we are compliant, we have made certain signage installed,” he said, adding that if the flashing is inoperable “the signage does permit the issuance of a violation if exceeding the speed in reduced speed times.”
A violation is issued if the reduced speed is exceeded by 11 or more miles per hour.
According to a report presented to council, more than 9,000 drivers have been caught speeding in school zones with fines totally nearly $900,000, total, in the three-month measuring period alone.
The RedSpeed Florida, LLC, School Zone Speed enforcement, a camera system partnership in 17 school zones in the Cape, is detecting a minimum of 100 speeders per day, per school zone, according to a study discussed at council’s special meeting.
The statistics showed a minimum of more than 100 speeding vehicles per week at 17 of the schools, with the highest number at one location being 15,487 speeding vehicles per week at Patriot Elementary School.
Speeding violations were measured at more than 10 miles-per-hour above the speed limit in effect, in conformity with statute:
In all, more than 30,000 speed violations were registered during the Kisinger Campo & Associates speed study.
From April 28, to July 31, the city received payments for 9,336 violations from the program. The total program receipts totaled $896,750.
The city of Cape Coral received $60 per violation, or $536,720; $44,835 went to the School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retainment Program, $5 per violation; $179,340 for the Florida Department of Revenue General Fund, $20 per violation; $26,901 for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice and Standards Training Trust Fund, $3 per violation; and $107,604 for Lee County School Districts, $12 per violation.
Of the funds received by the city, $30,872.67 went to employee salaries, $187,852 went to the vendor and $44,835 went to the school crossing guard recruitment and retainment program.
Boksner said there are several employees in the Cape Coral Police Department who verify whether there is a violation. The uniformed traffic citation also goes through the police department.
“Every month we do hold hearings with a local hearing officer that does hear anyone that may appeal the decision to determine if there was a violation of the law,” he said.
Speed cameras are a best management practice and a way to cut expenses, Ilczyszyn said.
“It’s an extremely efficient manner to enforce the school zone to provide the safety for our children and trust from our parents that this is serious for us,” he said.
The notices of school zone speed detection system violations were issued from April 28, 2025 to June 3, 2025 for the following schools — Ida S. Baker High School, Challenger Middle School, Diplomat Middle School, Mariner Middle School, Trafalgar Middle School, Cape Elementary School, Diplomat Elementary School, Gulf Elementary School, Oasis Charter Elementary School North, Patriot Elementary School, Pelican Elementary School, Skyline Elementary School, Trafalgar Elementary School, Heritage Charter Academy of Cape Coral, Thrive Academy of Cape Coral, Cape Coral Christian School and St. Andrews Catholic School.
Notices from June 6, 2025 to July 17, 2025 — the end of summer school — were for Oasis Charter Elementary School North, Oasis Middle School, Gulf Elementary School, Cape Elementary School, and Diplomat Elementary School.
There were a total of 11,824 notices of violations issued from April 28 through July 31. Of those numbers 9,336 violations were paid, 120 violations contested with a hearing scheduled, 30 contested violations upheld after hearing, 14 violations dismissed after hearing, 1,503 violations issued as uniform traffic citations, 621 traffic citations pending and 3,137 violations dismissed.
In April 2023, the Florida Legislature passed, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law, HB 657, Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits, which became effective on July 1, 2023. According to city documents with the special meeting agenda, the bill “authorizes counties and municipalities to utilize automated speed detection systems in school zones to enforce speed limits while setting forth numerous requirements for implementation, administration and due process procedures.”
The traffic engineering firm, Kisinger Campo & Associates was engaged in April 2024, to conduct a speed study encompassing 21 schools.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com