New city cameras to help tackle unlawful and dangerous driving

Liverpool City Council says that a series of new cameras designed to tackle dangerous driving will go live in Liverpool next week.

Liverpool City Council has been installing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at a number of locations as part of new enforcement powers to help reduce congestion, improve air quality and road safety, and encourage sustainable travel.

The new powers, as set out in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act (2004), allows local authorities to penalise poor driving habits which previously could only be enforced by the police, under criminal law.

Liverpool City Council, which has now received these new powers from the Department of Transport (DfT), will use the cameras to reinforce the work it is currently doing to tackle unlawful and dangerous driving behaviour.

The new ANPR cameras, which go live at the start of Road Safety Week, will also complement changes to key parts of the city’s highways networks such as the upgrade of The Strand and Lime Street, and the increasing number of cycle lanes being introduced across the city.

However, following DfT guidelines, there will be a warning notice period where no fines will be issued for first-time offenders. Drivers will initially be issued with a warning letter notice but they may receive a fine of £70 if they carry on ignoring the driving restriction.

Examples of the type of moving traffic offences that can be enforced under the new powers include:

· Undertaking banned turns

· Driving through a ‘No Entry’ sign

· Driving in a route permitted for buses and taxis only

· Driving through a school street, pedestrian and cycle zone

· Entering a yellow box junction when the exit is not clear

The Council will initially undertake enforcement at the following locations from Monday, 20 November:

Lime Street from London Road – no motor vehicles, except for buses, taxis and access.
Ranelagh Street at Brownlow Hill – no u-turn on Ranelagh Place.

As well as the above, the existing bus gate on Ranelagh Street will also benefit from the rollout of ANPR cameras which will allow more enforcement to take place.

Further ANPR cameras will become operational in mid-December at: Whitechapel Cross/Hall Street; New Quay/Chapel Street; St Annes Fire Station; and on The Strand at New Quay/George’s Dock Gates/St Nicholas Place/Chapel Street.

Cameras will also be in place at Lime Street between Skelhorne Street and St George’s Place to enforce the bus-only route. This route is currently barriered and is set to open in the New Year.

Two ‘school streets’ (for Greenbank Primary School and Much Woolton Primary School) will also see APNR cameras become operational in the New Year, at Arlington Avenue from Greenbank Road and Arlington Avenue from Nicander Road; Watergate Lane from Woodrock Road and Watergate Way from Priorsfield Road.

As part of Road Safety Week, members of the Council’s Highways team will be visiting the city’s schools to raise awareness about the Highway Code. The team will be at Fazakerley Primary on Monday, 20^th November, and as part of their safety session will be helping pupils conduct Speed Surveys on Longmoor Lane.

Councillor Dan Barrington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said:

“Road Safety is of paramount importance to the Council. Too many accidents occur on our roads for us to just sit back and do nothing. These new powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions just part of a wider programme to improve road safety across the city.

“These new APNR cameras will enable us to enforce the Highway Code and improve behaviours at key junctions, but we want to give people time to get used to these new rules which is why we are having a fine amnesty until the New Year.

“Our overall aim is to educate people to be more patient behind the wheel, and ideally encourage people to think twice about using the car at all. Most car journeys in the city are under 5km, many of which could be done by alternative methods.

“That’s why as a Council we’re supporting moves to improve public transport and why we’re investing millions of pounds in active travel infrastructure to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle more often.”