In a unanimous decision that could herald a new era of traffic enforcement around Orlando's educational spaces, the Orlando City Council has put its weight behind the installation of speed cameras at local schools. As reported by CFPublic, this move comes on the heels of a Florida law enacted last year allowing for the municipal enforcement of school zone speed limits via speed detection cameras. The Council identified 24 high-risk schools for the initial rollout.

District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose, in a statement obtained by CFPublic, expressed the need for community education about the initiative, particularly addressing concerns of economic impact and stereotypes. Commissioner Tony Ortiz, recounting his experience as a former police officer, and the tragedy of accidents involving children, expressed his support, "There's no sadder scene than having a police officer or a firefighter having to come up to an incident of somebody hitting a kid," reported by CFPublic.

This project aligns with the wider strategy to bolster pedestrian safety — an area where Orlando reportedly fares poorly. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer underscored this necessity for improvements, as ClickOrlando noted the city's dire pedestrian safety ratings.

Concerns from residents, like Jim Grogan who has observed the evolution of his street into a "race track" over the years, highlight the urgency of such measures. In a bid to turn the tide on this trend, Christina Martin, Orlando's deputy director of transportation, emphasized the small sacrifice of time needed to ensure safety, "It just takes a couple more minutes just to go a little slower." Martin told MyNews13.

Once operational, the speed detection system will have a grace period where warnings, but not fines, will be issued, to allow drivers to acclimate to the new enforcement. Orlando City Council will revisit the ordinance on July 15 for a second reading, as cited by MyNews13. If passed, the ordinance could invite bids for the camera installations at 25 school zones by the end of the year, as 29 of the 114 schools in Orlando are presently ineligible due to a lack of established school zones. Both the city staff and community members hope the $1 million to $1.5 million in expected annual revenue from fines will be a budgetary boost for pedestrian safety measures.