Tampa City Council to Take Final Vote on School Zone Speed Camera Expansion — Here's What Parents Need to Know Before July 16

TAMPA, FL — Parents driving through school zones in Tampa and the New Tampa corridor have a date to circle on the calendar. Tampa City Council is set to take its final vote on an expanded school-zone speed camera program on July 16, and if it passes, the city's camera network will nearly grow by half — right in time for the new school year.

What's Changing 

Tampa currently operates automated speed cameras in 12 school zones. Under the proposed expansion, that number would grow to 18 — with six of the current locations staying in place, six being dropped, and 12 new zones added across the city, several of them in the New Tampa area.

Why Now 

The push follows a traffic study conducted by RedSpeed, the city's camera contractor, which looked at 31 school zones across 29 campuses in April. The findings were stark: 18 of those zones showed serious speeding problems, with daily violation averages ranging from 200 to more than 3,000. The worst offender was St. Lawrence Catholic School on North Himes Avenue, where cameras counted over 17,000 vehicles and flagged more than 6,000 speeding violations across just a two-day review — an average of 3,021 violations per day.

How the Cameras Work 

The system isn't running around the clock. Cameras only issue citations when school zone flashers are active, meaning no tickets after the school day ends, on weekends, during school holidays, or on teacher workdays. Citations trigger once a driver exceeds 26 mph in an active 15 mph school zone, and each ticket carries a $100 civil penalty.

The Money Side 

City estimates project roughly $10 million in net revenue for Tampa in the program's first year, part of a broader $14.7 million in projected first-year revenue after other costs and distributions. Statewide, cities and counties pulled in nearly $16 million from school zone cameras during the 2025–2026 fiscal year, with Hillsborough County ranking second in the state behind Miami-Dade.

Not Without Pushback 

The vote hasn't been unanimous or without concern. Council member Bill Carlson has argued the city should lean harder into physical safety upgrades — bigger flashing signs, elevated crosswalks — rather than relying primarily on cameras and citations, saying the ideal outcome is a program that collects zero fines because drivers simply slow down on their own. Council members Alan Clendenin and Naya Young have both raised similar concerns about over-relying on automated enforcement instead of more visible safety measures or law enforcement presence.

Privacy has also come up. Some residents and council members have questioned whether RedSpeed shares data with Flock, a company known for license plate reading technology. City code currently prohibits RedSpeed from sharing camera data with Flock, and Tampa's assistant city attorney has said the systems are legally restricted to school zone safety purposes only.

What Happens Next 

The July 16 vote is the second and final reading needed to make the expansion official. If approved, new cameras could be installed and active in select school zones as early as August 2026 — meaning drivers in newly added zones, including parts of the New Tampa corridor, should expect the change to take effect right as the new school year begins.

Why It Matters for Wesley Chapel-Area Families 

While Wesley Chapel itself falls under Pasco County rather than Tampa city limits, several of the newly proposed camera zones sit in the New Tampa area many Wesley Chapel families pass through regularly on the way to work, shopping, or connecting routes into Tampa. Parents commuting through that corridor should watch for updated signage and be prepared to slow down well before back-to-school traffic ramps up.

📍 Affects school zones citywide in Tampa, including several New Tampa locations 

📅 Final vote: Thursday, July 16, 2026 | Possible camera activation: August 2026 

🌐 Check tampagov.net for the finalized list of school zone camera locations once approved