Our Commitment to Safety — Vision Zero in Lakeland

Lakeland is committed to creating safer streets for all residents. As part of our Vision Zero Action Plan, adopted in March 2025, the City Commission set a goal to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes. Traffic enforcement cameras — both at red-light intersections and in school zones — play a key role in this strategy by changing driver behavior, deterring risky actions, and reducing crashes.

Red-light running is a major safety issue at intersections. In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 1,149 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in red-light running crashes in 2022. At least half of those killed were the driver’s passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists or people in other vehicles.

Speeding in school zones is particularly dangerous, especially when children are arriving or departing. Lakeland identified school zones as a high priority in its Vision Zero plan. During the 2023–2024 school year, 25 Polk County students were involved in vehicle-vs-pedestrian crashes; tragically, 13 died, many while walking to or from school.