Boca Raton council to introduce ordinance allowing automated school‑zone speed enforcement; six schools targeted for phase one

Boca Raton officials said Monday they will introduce Ordinance 5731 at the March 25 regular meeting to authorize automated speed‑detection enforcement in eligible school zones, with staff recommending a phased rollout that would begin at six school zones identified by traffic and crash data.

City staff presented the plan at a Feb. 24 workshop. "Only applicable in eligible school zones," Zack Bier, Municipal Services Director, told the council, describing a data‑driven selection that considered average daily traffic, crash history, 85th‑percentile speeds and the percentage of drivers exceeding the posted limit by 10 mph.

The recommendation for phase one identifies six sites that met the city’s heightened‑risk criteria, Bier said, listing Addison Meissner, Blue Lake Elementary, Colusa, Omni/Onnie Middle School (a combined zone), Spanish River/Boca Raton High School and JC Mitchell. Bier said staff analyzed crashes from 2018–2023 and other datasets developed under the city’s Vision Zero action planning.

Why it matters: the state revised statutes now permit automated detection in school zones for certain speeds and times, and City Hall officials said they want to reduce crashes and improve…