ONECO, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Department of Transportation has reinstalled school safety zones on State Road 70 in Oneco ahead of the new school year.

In a release by Citizens for Historic Oneco, a local organization dedicated to preserving the area’s unique history, it announced that the flashing 20 mph safety lights along the busy highway have been reinstated after being abruptly removed in 2023, sparking outcry from the community.

Spokesperson for Citizens for Historic Oneco, Margi Nanney, stated that the highway is one of the most dangerous in Manatee County and poses a risk to the lives of students returning to Oneco Elementary School.

“Oneco Elementary has had safety lights for more than 40 years. In the 1990s, when SR 70 was widened from two to six lanes, the FDOT was going to take them down and we lobbied to keep them. They made an exception, stating by law they are not obligated to have them on state roads. Now there is much more traffic, over 33,000 cars per day… many speeding. We were shocked when the lights were removed,” said Nanney. “Again, we went to bat to have them reinstalled to prevent a tragedy. There was a lot of finger-pointing between the different agencies about why they were removed.”

Regarding the reinstallation of the safety zones, Nanney added, “We give credit to our District 2 Manatee County Commissioner, Amanda Ballard, who followed through with the FDOT to make sure they were put back in place. It may be an inconvenience for drivers rushing to get to work to slow down along this stretch of SR 70, but if the lights save just one life, slowing down is not such a big deal.”