Boca Raton to introduce ordinance for automated school-zone speed enforcement; six zones slated for first phase

Boca Raton staff announced they will ask the City Council to introduce Ordinance No. 5,731 on March 18 to allow automated enforcement of school-zone speed limits using speed detection systems.

The announcement came as Zach Bier, Municipal Services Director, told council members that “the state recently updated the statutes identifying that there can be automatic detection in schools or school zones.” Bier said the city’s technical analysis prioritized school zones by combining average daily traffic, crash history and measured speeds from 2018–2023, and recommended a phased rollout to the areas that met the “heightened safety risk” threshold.

The city’s phase 1 list of school zones (alphabetical) is Addison Meisner, Blue Lake Elementary, Colusa Elementary, Omni Middle/Spanish River (a combined zone), Boca Raton High School and J.C. Mitchell. Bier said staff identified 15 school zones within the city for study and recommended beginning with six where the combined data supported priority deployment.

Why it matters: Staff and the council framed the program as part of the city’s Vision Zero strategy to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities around schools. Bier said the ordinance and data work allow the city to move from policy to procurement and implementation planning.

How the system would operate: Bier and Police Chief Muccio described the statutory and operational limits. Bier summarized: “citations only [for] speeds 10 plus the posted speed limit on school days,” and stressed the devices are only operational during the school day (from morning through the afternoon school-period hours) rather than 24/7. He said the city will still need traffic engineering and enforcement staff to validate and process violations.

Staffing and training constraints: Chief Muccio said the city can use civilian employees to assist but only if they are certified as traffic enforcement infraction officers. “We have not found a class to certify civilian employees for the traffic enforcement infraction officer,” Muccio said, noting the police department has contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and is exploring options. He cautioned that review of notices can be labor intensive, citing a prior red-light program that generated hundreds of daily items for a single reviewer.

Procurement and rollout approach: Staff recommended an RFP to procure a turnkey vendor and to include training, public-education and the ability to add zones over time. Bier told council that vendors can provide turnkey systems but the city must ensure back-office processing, payment handling and enforcement review procedures are robust. Council members discussed options to accelerate coverage (for example, issuing warnings initially or enabling detection citywide but only enforcing in selected zones) while the city builds processing capacity.

Timing and public education: Bier said the staff’s target is to commence the program in the fall semester; he also described early educational steps that jurisdictions commonly adopt (notice letters or warnings before issuing citations). Council members asked staff to consider additional near-term steps — longer pre-enforcement windows, piggyback procurement options — to get broader coverage sooner without compromising processing or legal requirements.

Other considerations raised: Council members asked if non-school-zone sites such as Don Estridge (a choice school) could be evaluated for a school zone designation; staff said only formally designated school zones are eligible under the ordinance and that criteria for establishing a school zone are set by state guidance and traffic engineering manuals. Staff also noted the school district typically receives a share of citation proceeds and that other municipalities in South Florida are pursuing similar efforts.

Next steps: Staff will place Ordinance No. 5,731 on the agenda for introduction March 18, proceed with data-driven site selection and prepare an RFP that includes education and training requirements. Council directed staff to return with specifics on phased implementation, timelines and potential options to accelerate coverage.