Fort Myers Looks at School Zone Speed Cameras After Cape Coral Ticketing Mix-up

Fort Myers officials met with speed camera vendors to discuss school zone enforcement systems. The talks came in the wake of ticket errors in Cape Coral.

Altumint and Redspeed pitched their tech to city officials Monday. The systems would snap photos of fast cars, sending out warnings first, then $100 tickets to repeat offenders.

Council Member Fred Burson voiced doubts about system precision, citing Cape Coral's mistakes. "You put down Northeast 33rd Street, Northeast 39th Street," he told Gulf Coast News. "They don't exist. If you go down the whole list, how do I know that you won't be sloppy during enforcement?"

McGregor Boulevard's school zone near Osceola Drive requires drivers to slow to 15 mph when lights flash. Yet cars zip through at dangerous speeds, causing local alarm.

Jeff Shafer spoke about the daily risks from his home. "You've got people doing 40, 50, 60 miles an hour down the road," he told Gulf Coast News. "I can hear it inside my house."

Last month's mishap in Cape Coral saw 84 drivers wrongly ticketed near Oasis Charter Elementary North. Wrong camera settings caused the error, forcing officials to cancel all invalid citations.

Parent Sharon Maquad painted a stark picture of the risks. "There are little kids who play out on this street. God forbid, one of these days they're going to get hit. It's just a nightmare," she said to WINK News.

Jennifer Hagen stressed the stakes for the whole community. "These are our kids. These are our children, and these are our future," she stated.

The plan sits in its early stages. The city must draft rules and hold public talks before any cameras go up.