Heritage Harbour South CDD aims to slow speeders

Community Development Supervisors will relocate off-duty deputies to slow down the speeding problem in Heritage Harbour South.

After years of mulling over options, speeding is still an issue.

The Community Development District supervisors have tried different strategies. They approved off-duty deputies to monitor the community for three hours twice a week and they installed speed radar signs in high traffic areas, such as Camden Harbour Loop and Fairway Isles Lane.

But residents of Fairway Isles, a strip that largely consists of villas and single-family homes of retirees and families, regularly notice speeders exceeding the 25 mph limit by more than 20 mph.

Supervisors now have approved stationing off-duty deputies on the street for a month. Typically, those deputies are posted throughout the community, often near the guardhouse, supervisor Tad Parker said. 

"There aren't a ton of people driving 70 mph, but there are some," CDD Chairwoman Michelle Patterson said. "We have plenty of speeders."

Resident Terry Beam said speeding needs to be addressed through additional means besides the speed radar signs. He has grandchildren coming to visit in a month and he worries about their safety, because of speeders and his villa's close proximity to the road.

"Speeding is definitely a problem on this road," Beam said. "I'm skeptical to say whether the signs are working or not. I think the signs are useful, but this is becoming a game to some people."

Some residents said certain drivers like to max out the speed radar sign. 

Beam said the speeding begins early.

"Before the sun rises, some people are out jogging and walking their dogs," Beam said. "But other people think it's race time."

District Engineer Rick Schappacher monitors the radar signs and the reports they generate each month.

He has clocked drivers traveling more than 50 mph in the residential neighborhood. His reports don't show license plate numbers. So he doesn't know whether each infraction occurs by a different driver, or a few culprits are the cause of the excessive speeds.

Other residents said just a few people are the cause of the speeding issue.

As deputies monitor the area throughout the month, residents hope law enforcement will provide more bite behind the bark by issuing more citations than officers have in previous months.

"People are seeing that there are no cameras on the radar signs and sometimes no consequences for speeding," Parker said. 

When the CDD approved having deputies monitor the community each week, the goal wasn't necessarily to issue citations and generate revenue for Manatee County Sheriffs Office. 

"We said the goal wasn't to ticket everyone," Parker said. "We just wanted to slow people down. But when deputies write warning after warning, it's disappointing. They should at least be running the speeder's license to see if they have been ticketed for speeding before, and then decide whether to give a ticket or warning."

On Sept. 22, a deputy stopped 12 drivers for traveling up to 19 mph over the speed limit. Only two individuals received citations. A week earlier, a different deputy issued five warnings and no citations.

According to reports from July 24 through Sept. 22, deputies issued more warnings than citations. 

"It's the deputies' discretion whether they issue a ticket," District Manager Greg Cox said.

Cox has relayed messages from supervisors to MCSO that there aren't enough tickets being written in Heritage Harbour. Supervisors will look closer at the ticket reports at upcoming meetings.

"These are fast speeds," Patterson said. "We need to find a way to slow people down."

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].