Cape Coral’s school zone safety plan hits a speed bump

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A massive effort to protect your kids is delayed.

Thanks to new cameras, speeders in Cape Coral school zones would be facing fines this week, but due to delays in the contractor’s schedule, they will not.

The interim transportation manager for the City of Cape Coral said the delays were due to the contractor’s holiday working schedule. Still, the installation of the above-ground infrastructure and cameras is set to begin this week.

When you see these yellow signs, drivers should know to slow down.


But not all drivers do, which can be dangerous for kids walking to school.

Tom Curran of Cape Coral said, “First of all, I hate tickets. I hate tickets of any kind. I don’t want to get them. I don’t want to see anybody get them, but they have to slow down.”

Cape Coral is installing school speed zone cameras in 16 locations near schools.

Drivers speeding 10 miles per hour or more over the school zone limit will initially receive a warning.

Bryan Vandewalker, the interim transportation manager with the City of Cape Coral, said, “As these school zone speed detection systems are turned on, they will have a 30-day warning period where drivers will not be receiving a ticket; they’ll be receiving a warning.”

During a public works meeting for the city on Wednesday, Vandewalker explained why they are turning on each school zone camera as soon as they are ready.

“This allows us to not over-inundate PD in one fell swoop, so as they come online, they will be entering their 30-day warning period, and we are not going to wait for the last one to finish before we start. We’re going to do them as they’re ready,” Vandewalker said.

After each camera is fully installed, a public outreach video will be produced, and a 30-day awareness and probation period will follow.

Drivers who violate school speed zones during school hours can expect a $100 citation in the mail, which can be paid by phone, online or mail.

These fines will not add points to the driver’s record or affect car insurance rates.

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