30-day awareness campaign to be implemented before Police Department starts issuing $100 fines
With their second, required hearing having been conducted on Sept. 3, the Sarasota city commissioners have authorized the installation and operation of speed detection systems in zones at the six schools that the Sarasota Police Department has deemed to be of higher risk for motorists exceeding the posted limit, based on a study undertaken earlier this year.
Persons who violate the new ordinance must pay a $100 fine, as noted in the ordinance the board members approved unanimously.
On July 1, the commissioners directed City Attorney Robert Fournier and his staff to prepare an ordinance that would allow for the implementation of the systems, using the criteria outlined in Florida Statute 316.008, which resulted from passage of a bill in the 2023 Florida Legislature.
During a July 1 presentation to the commissioners, Demetri Konstantopoulos, captain of the Sarasota Police Department’s Support Services Division, and Det. John Lake, a member of the agency’s Criminal Investigations Division, provided details about the violations that the agency documented during a study conducted from March 18 through March 22. The school with the highest number of violations was Cardinal Mooney, which stands at 4171 Fruitville Road: The Police Department recorded 17,445 violations, the data showed.
Additionally, the agency logged more than 10,000 violations for Southside Elementary School’s four safety zones — along South Tamiami Trail (3,624), along South Osprey Avenue (3,160), along Webber Street east of U.S. 41 (2,721), and along Webber west of U.S. 41 (633), the report said.
In accord with the 2023 state law, the ordinance the commissioners approved last week also calls for a public awareness campaign before any tickets are issued. “At least 30 days before commencing enforcement under the Speed Detection System program, the City shall notify the public of the specific date on which the program will commence,” the ordinance says. Additionally, “During the 30-day public awareness campaign, only a warning will be issued to the registered owner of a motor vehicle for a violation of [the school zone speed limits].”
Cardinal Mooney — encompassing the Fruitville Road blocks of 4000 through 4300 — and three approaches to Southside School are included in the new program. For Southside, the zones are the South Osprey Avenue blocks of 2400 through 2900; the Webber Street blocks of 1800 through 2000; and the South Tamiami Trail blocks of 2700 through 2900.
The other affected schools and their safety zones are as follows:
- Alta Vista Elementary School, located at 1050 Euclid Ave. — 800 and 900 blocks of South Tuttle Avenue; and 900 through 1100 blocks of South Shade Avenue.
- Tuttle Elementary School, located at 2863 Eighth St. — blocks 600 through 800 of North Tuttle Avenue; blocks 700 and 800 of North Lime Avenue; and blocks 700 and 800 of North Lockwood Ridge Road.
- Sarasota High School, located at 2155 Bahia Vista St. — blocks 2000 through 2200 of Bahia Vista Street.
- Sarasota Military Academy, located at 801 N. Orange Ave. — blocks 700 through 900 of North Orange Avenue.
The following actions will be considered violations, the ordinance notes:
- Driving in excess of 10 mph over the school zone speed limit within 30 minutes before the start of a regularly scheduled school breakfast program through 30 minutes after the start of the program.
- Driving more than 10 mph over the school zone speed limit within 30 minutes before, through 30 minutes after, the start of a regularly scheduled school session.
- Driving in excess of 10 mph over the posted speed limit during the entirety of a regularly scheduled school session.
- Driving more than 10 mph over the school zone speed limit within 30 minutes before, through 30 minutes after, the end of a regularly scheduled school session.
The ordinance further notes that city staff “shall notify the public” of the speed zones “by posting signage indicating photographic or video enforcement” of speed limits. Further, the signage must clearly designate the time period during which the speed limits will be enforced.
Of each $100 fine, $60 “may be retained by the City to administer the speed detection systems in school zones and other safety initiatives,” the formal Agenda Request Form for the Sept. 3 agenda item pointed out. Another $5 will be set aside for the School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retention Program, the form said.
Notices of violations
The ordinance does specify how drivers are to be informed of their speeding in the school zones: “The Notice of violation shall be sent by first-class mail to the registered owner of the motor vehicle involved in the Violation specifying the remedies available under [the state statute].”
Each notice must Include “a photograph or other recorded image showing the license plate of the motor vehicle; the date, time, and location of the Violation; the maximum speed at which the motor vehicle was traveling within the School Zone; and the speed limit within the School Zone at the time of the Violation.”
The ordinance also gives the owner of the vehicle “the right to review, in person or remotely, the photograph or video captured by the Speed Detection System and the evidence of the speed of the motor vehicle detected by the Speed Detection System …”
Additionally, a local hearing procedure has been established for anyone wishing to contest a notice of violation. The ordinance says that the hearings will be held no more often than twice a month at City Hall, which stands at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota.