Winter Garden adopts school‑zone speed cameras despite criticism of 10‑mph threshold

The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved Ordinance 25‑01 on Jan. 14, 2025, authorizing the use of automated speed‑detection systems in designated school zones to address speeding that staff said threatens student and pedestrian safety.

The ordinance creates a school‑zone speed enforcement program, establishes program implementation and administrative requirements and authorizes the use of speed detection systems within the city’s designated school zones. The measure passed after an extended public discussion about a state legislative threshold that requires automated systems to issue citations only for drivers recorded at least 10 miles per hour above the posted limit.

The ordinance matters, officials said, because it provides a technology‑based tool to supplement limited officer patrols near schools. At the same time, several commissioners and members of the public objected to the 10‑mph threshold they said could blunt the cameras’ effectiveness for everyday speeding.

Chief of Police (identified in the meeting as “the chief”) told the commission the ordinance is intended to “minimize the unacceptable hazard of speeding that threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the students and pedestrians of the city.” He also said an officer at a school zone can still stop and cite a motorist and that an officer’s uniform traffic citation takes precedence over an automated citation.

Greg Parks, a representative of Redspeed (the vendor presenting the technology), said the state law requires transparency and annual reporting and said the vendor can provide detailed data. “We have very robust statistical reporting,” Parks told the commission, noting programs modeled on Georgia law that he said produced large reductions in recorded speeding. “We have seen tremendous results over 6 years at Georgia under an identical law.” He also said the vendor would perform a longer, week‑long study and provide more granular reporting if the commission chose to proceed.

During public comment, a resident who identified himself as Bob and said he lives on North Lakeview Avenue warned that drivers already “are going 45 and 50” and asked how the camera fines would work. The chief answered that automated citations under the state program are a $100 fine regardless of the amount by which the camera records drivers over the threshold; an officer‑issued citation can result in higher fines and points.

Commissioners pressed staff and the vendor for data and for clarification of legal limits. One commissioner noted repeated attempts to contact a state representative for an explanation of the legislative rule that sets the 10‑mph threshold; staff and the vendor said the threshold is set by the legislature and not by the city. Parks said the law’s transparency requirements include an annual public report showing safety outcomes and revenue, and he offered to produce additional special reporting for the commission.

Action and next steps: The ordinance passed unanimously. Staff and the vendor said they would proceed with permitting and, if approved by the city, perform a follow‑up week‑long traffic study and provide the commission with detailed speed data and reporting as allowed by law. The chief confirmed officers would continue to have discretion to stop and cite speeders during school hours.

Context: The debate focused on the tension between a law the commission said sets a 10‑mph automated‑enforcement threshold and local interest in deterring lower‑level speeding in school zones. The commission did not modify the state threshold; commissioners said passage authorizes the city to use automated systems subject to state law and local permitting and reporting requirements.

Votes and formal action: Motion to approve Ordinance 25‑01; motion seconded and carried unanimously.