Leander now requires radar display signs in new school zones

All schools within the LISD boundaries will not only be required to implement these signs in new school zones but pay for the installation.

Radar display signs are solar-powered and equipped with sensors that detect and display the speed of oncoming vehicles, according to meeting documents. They serve as a reminder for drivers to slow down in the absence of a physical officer.

The signs, however, will not be used for direct law enforcement by the police, but will help gain speed compliance from drivers instead, Assistant Chief of Police Billy Fletcher said at the meeting. Studies prove that radar display signs significantly help reduce speeds.

How implementation works

• The ordinance does not apply to existing school zones.
• Eight radar display signs have already been paid for by the city and installed throughout Leander, garnering major success, according to meeting documents.
• A newly installed radar display sign will cost roughly $3,400, which would be the school’s responsibility.
• Control of the signs goes to the city, who is solely responsible for the ongoing costs of equipment maintenance.

Council Member David McDonald had a concern about the accuracy of the signs, whether they display the correct speed of the motorist. McDonald was referring to the radar display sign on Crystal Falls Parkway near Pleasant Hill Elementary.

“You’re getting the speed flashing at you, and it says 30 mph, and I’m not doing that, because it’s a 45 mph zone,” he said. “If we’re going to use these, [I ask] that we have the correct signage in place, because we want to be credible to our citizens. ... We should not be trying to advertise that [the speed limit] is something different during the hours that it’s not.”

The sign that McDonald was speaking about was one of the first to be implemented, and existing sign posts were used. Drivers would have to adjust their speed according to the times listed on those signs.

Sgt. Ryan Doyle assured that the newly designed signs will be accurate based on the time of day, and it will correlate with the correct speed display.

“I think they do work; I pay close attention to them,” Council Member Becki Ross said.

Visit the Leander Police Department Facebook for any updates on radar display signs.