BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Both Alachua County and the City of Gainesville took the next step this week toward implementing school zone speed cameras.
Alachua County
At their October 1 meeting, the Alachua County Commission decided to pursue a phased approach, starting with two to four school zones in 2025; the schools will be selected based on safety, traffic, and demographic data, including an equity overlay. County staff said that a slow roll-out would allow the County to assess staffing and budgetary needs before scaling up.
Seventeen school zones in the unincorporated county were listed as “under heightened risk,” including zones at Archer Elementary, Ft. Clarke Middle, Hidden Oak Elementary, Hawthorne Middle/High, Shell Elementary, Idylwild Elementary, Kanapaha Middle, Wiles Elementary, Lake Forest Elementary, Chiles Elementary, Meadowbrook Elementary, and all three Newberry schools. All of these schools would be listed in the ordinance to provide flexibility in adding schools as the program expands.