West Palm Beach, FL Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)
Key Facts
- Red light cameras
- Authorized by City Code § 86-200
- Governing law
- Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, § 86-201
- School zone cameras
- Added by Ord. No. 5142-25 (Sept. 2025)
- Schools covered
- 19 named campuses, § 86-207
- Program revenue
- Restricted to traffic/enforcement uses, § 86-202
- Notice required
- 30-day public awareness campaign, § 86-210
Summary
West Palm Beach uses red light traffic infraction detectors under City Code § 86-200, adopting the state's Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act at § 86-201, and in September 2025 added automated speed detection systems at 19 named school zones under §§ 86-203 through 86-211 to enforce state speed limits during school hours.
Sec. 86-200. - Use of traffic infraction detectors. The city exercises its option under F.S. § 316.008, to use traffic infraction detectors within its jurisdiction to enforce F.S. § 316.017(1) or § 316.075 (1)(C), when a driver fails to stop at a traffic signal on streets and highways in the city's jurisdiction.
(Ord. No. 4279-10, § 2, 6-28-2010)
Sec. 86-201. - Adoption of state law relating to red light traffic infraction detectors. The Mark Wandall Safety Act and any subsequent additions adopted by state statute, are hereby adopted and incorporated as if fully set out in this section. Such provisions shall be in force and effect and the provisions thereof shall be controlling to administer enforcement where traffic infraction detectors are used to enforce traffic signal violations within the limits of the city.
(Ord. No. 4279-10, § 2, 6-28-2010)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
075(1)(c). Section 86-201 adopts the state's Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act by reference, so the state law's notice, fine and hearing procedures, not a separate city ordinance, govern how a red light camera ticket is processed. Section 86-202 requires the city to account for every dollar the program brings in and spend it only on transportation, traffic enforcement, police training, DUI and speeding abatement, traffic control devices and the program's own administrative costs, as set out in the city's annual budget resolution. In September 2025 the city commission added a parallel program: Ordinance No.
5142-25 created Division 6 of Chapter 86, codified at §§ 86-203 through 86-211, authorizing portable or fixed radar/LiDAR speed detection systems in school zones. Section 86-204 makes formal findings that West Palm Beach school zones present a heightened safety risk from student and vehicle traffic before and after the school day. Section 86-207 names the 19 specific schools where cameras may be installed, including Forest Hill High School, Bak Middle School of the Arts, Palm Beach Lakes Community High School and Roosevelt Elementary. 1896 rather than creating separate city rules.
Section 86-210 requires the police department to post signage and run a 30-day public awareness campaign before enforcement begins at each location, and § 86-211 requires periodic reporting to the state.
Violations & Fines
A red light or school-zone speed camera citation is processed and penalized entirely under state law: the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, adopted by § 86-201, for red light infractions, and F.S. § 316.1896, adopted by § 86-209, for school-zone speeding, including the state's own hearing and appeal procedures before the city's code enforcement hearing officer acting as local hearing officer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does West Palm Beach have red light cameras?
Are there speed cameras in West Palm Beach school zones?
How much notice does West Palm Beach give before turning on a school zone camera?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in West Palm Beach
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Red-Light Cameras in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Palm Beach County handle red-light cameras.