Cape Coral drivers are finding ways to evade school zone cameras, causing concern among residents. Some are taking detours through neighborhoods, like Southwest Eighth Place, to avoid the cameras on Skyline Blvd.
“It is a speedway out here,” said Edward Moore, a neighbor. “It’s been, really been out of control the past year.”
Drivers are using his neighborhood street as a shortcut, Moore explained.
“With the cameras, traffic is avoiding that school zone and coming down Southwest 8th Pl. because it runs parallel to Skyline, but they’re doing so at very high rates of speed,” he said.
Moore recounted a close call he had with a speeder.
“The other day, I was riding my motorcycle here, just about to turn into my driveway, and as I started turning in, a car passed me on my left just to get around me,” he said. “And it’s dangerous enough on the bike in Cape Coral right now, but turning in your own driveway and almost getting hit by a speeder is when I reached out to you guys.”
This incident prompted Moore to reach out to WINK News for help.
WINK News reporter Camila Pereira stopped along Southwest 8th Pl. from Southwest Trafalgar Parkway to Veterans Memorial Parkway on Tuesday morning to observe the situation firsthand. She said she witnessed drivers exceeding the posted 30 miles per hour speed limit by at least 10 miles per hour, even as children walked to school.
Moore expressed his concern for the safety of the community.
“I’m afraid it’s going to take an accident before we get any enforcement out here,” he said.
Moore and WINK News reporter Camila Pereira reached out to the Cape Coral Police Department. The department emphasized its commitment to monitoring speeding through neighborhoods and stated that residential roads should not be used as shortcuts to school zones.