Pasco County commissioners voted on August 12 to move forward with two school-zone speed enforcement pilot programs targeting the Wells Road school cluster in Wesley Chapel, home to Wesley Chapel Elementary, Thomas E. Weightman Middle and Wesley Chapel High. County traffic studies found drivers averaging 32.5 mph during morning drop-off and 31.9 mph at dismissal in zones posted for 15 mph, more than double the limit families walk and bike through every school day.
The board approved one program that would issue automated citations and a second, non-ticketing system meant to slow drivers without fines. Both are pilots, meaning they will run on a trial basis before any countywide expansion. Chairman Ron Mariano cast the lone dissenting vote on final approval, and commissioners directed the county attorney and procurement staff to add data-security safeguards and cancellation clauses to any vendor contract before either program goes live.
What the citation program would cost drivers
Under the plan discussed at the meeting, a driver caught going 11 mph or more over the posted school-zone limit would face a $100 fine. Vendor representative Greg Parks of Redspeed told commissioners the company typically holds enforcement data for 30 days and destroys it sooner once a citation is resolved. Parks also cited a roughly 90% non-recidivism rate, meaning most drivers cited once are not cited again in the same zone.
Fines from automated citations would not add points to a driver’s license and would not affect insurance rates, based on how the program was described to the board. Money collected would be split among the county, law enforcement, the school district and a school crossing guard fund.
Why commissioners hesitated before final sign-off
The vote was not unanimous cheerleading. Commissioners pushed back on how long a vendor could hold driver data and whether the county could walk away from a contract if the pilot didn’t work as promised. Those questions are now with the county attorney and procurement staff, who must build the safeguards into any solicitation before either program can be deployed. Mariano’s no vote came after those concerns were raised, though the board did not detail his specific objections in the motion itself…