Government, Niceville, Schools and Education

City Council Approves School Zone Speeding Cameras Plan

City Manager David Deitch's plan for speed cameras around schools gets unanimous approval from Niceville City Council. The initiative aims to improve road safety, targeting areas around Ruckel Middle School, Niceville High School, and SR-85 near Edge Elementary School.

The Niceville City Council unanimously approved City Manager David Deitch’s plan to install speed cameras in school zones, which can issue tickets to drivers at their January meeting.

City staff say the cameras, once installed, will cover the ‘triangle’ of three roads that surround Ruckel Middle School and Niceville High School.

City staff say they plan to allow the installation of another speeding camera ticketing system on SR-85, next to Edge Elementary School.

The city manager told the council he believes the program has two more hoops to jump through before the company, whoever it might be, will set up cameras and begin ticket issuance on behalf of the city.

“It’s several months away before these things will be installed and operational,” Deitch told the City Council, “So, I’ll probably bring that to you before the February council meeting.”

City staff say they have kicked the tires on several companies that offer this service – and have found the vendor they believe will work best. Because installing the ticket cameras and their operation won’t cost the city money (the company takes a cut of the traffic ticket), the council does not need to vote on selecting a company for the bureaucracy to move forward on implementing the cameras.

How Do Camera Systems To Stop Speeding Work?

According to Altumint, the speeding camera vendor that City Manager David Deitch referenced in a past council meeting, they have a “proprietary system we can detect and record violations for speeding, red light, or school bus stop arm. The captured data includes vehicle make, type, color, and license plate, which is securely integrated with MVA databases for automated registered owner retrieval.

Our system provides a fully automated process for ticketing, with law enforcement verification being the only manual step required. This helps to ensure that justice prevails through vehicle match verification.”

The company also named the State of Florida the “Third worst state for pedestrian traffic fatalities.”

Christopher Saul

Christopher Saul is the publisher of Mid Bay News. He graduated from Southern Methodist University's School of Journalism with a Convergance Journalism Degree and a Master's Degree in Public Administration From Florida State.