New Traffic Enforcement Powers For The Council

[Planner1 438]

12 hours ago, Irene Swaine said:

Definitely not. Take a walk on Abbeydale Road and you will see there eis no enforcement going on. Hence the atrocious parking.

If you took the trouble to ask parking services, they could tell you exactly how many tickets are issued on Abbeydale Rd. It’s a primary transport route and they were certainly enforced on a daily basis, particularly at peak times when I was there.

 

Send them an FOI request if you are really interested.

[Planner1 438]

12 hours ago, Irene Swaine said:

The government have been known to falsify statistics. In any case, why are they going for vehicles that alleviate emissions by taking many vehicles out of use? For every bus with its engine running, that's atleast 30 cars with the engines switched off...if I believed in all of that climate change business, I'd be issuing air zone charges for private cars, as they are the biggest cause of emissions when you consider emissions per passenger. There was a time when the government used to say public transport was "environmentally friendlier" than private cars. 🤷

In this case, the monitoring of air quality is actually done by the council for the government.

 

Buses are running around all day every day, as are trucks, taxis and vans. Their mileage is generally a lot higher than the average car.

 

The CAZ is about nitrogen dioxide levels. It isn’t a greenhouse gas, so it’s not about climate change. It’s a dangerous pollutant that impacts on people’s health. There are legal limits for it and the government has been required by the courts to ensure compliance.

 

Modern vehicles don’t emit much nitrogen dioxide compared to older ones.

[Resident 1,193]

18 hours ago, Planner1 said:

That is not a contravention that can currently be enforced by camera.

 

The government has to put in place the legal framework to enable camera enforcement. Currently it only covers:

• Bus Lanes / Gates
• CAZ’s
• School  Entrance Markings
• Box Junctions
• No Entries
• Banned turns

Nothing else.

 

Unfortunately there are 2 areas that need to see enforcement but seem not to be on SCC's radar despite numerous complaints.

• The box junction on the exit of Meadowhall bus station. Buses regularly struggle to get out due to yellow box contraventions.
• Blonk St, entering from Wicker. Absolutely prolific illegal turns, usually by taxis
   

In another post you quite rightly said that not all bus gates are enforced by camera which I think is a mistake. There are 3 bus gates in the city that are regularly abused and should be enforced by camera IMO

• Commercial St > Angel St
• Fitzwilliam Gate
• Church St (signposted BUS and TRAM ONLY) excludes taxis yet taxi drivers ignore this and drive through anyway in both directions. 

 

 

16 hours ago, hackey lad said:

The tram crossed Moss Way this afternoon, when the lights were green for traffic. Would the new enforcements stop this ?

 

For that you need to report it to Supertram/Police. It's a traffic light contravention so falls under their perview. 
 

22 hours ago, peak4 said:

I don't disagree in principle, but Yellow Box Junctions can be problematic; I can see real problems comming up with the Queens Road one

Drivers risk being unfairly fined at yellow box junctions Fleet News

The RAC has identified problems with nine-in-10 yellow box junctions where councils want to enforce moving traffic offences, leaving drivers at risk of being unfairly fined.

Some 27 local authorities have applied to Government for permission to enforce 111 yellow box junctions, a new study from the RAC reveals.

It commissioned chartered engineer Sam Wright, who was responsible for the design and approval of yellow boxes on the Transport for London (TfL) road network, to review the applications.

Following analysis of the application sites, the RAC believes there are issues with 90% of the boxes which are likely to lead to drivers being fined unfairly.

In fact, more than half (55%) directly contravene the current Government guidance, sometimes on multiple counts.

The junction breaches include: 40 that pose visibility issues for drivers; 16 that are on the side of the road opposite T-junctions which the Department for Transport (DfT) states serves ‘no useful purpose’; 18 that extend beyond junctions such that they may be considered non-complaint with the regulations; and nine that are in non-permitted locations according to the regulations.

Wright said: “Many of the boxes have been around for years, perhaps decades. It appears that many authorities have simply assumed that the boxes already on the ground are suitable for enforcement without carrying out a fresh assessment as is recommended in Government guidance.

Easy way out of the fine then for a competant solicitor. 

[Planner1 438]

42 minutes ago, Resident said:

 

Unfortunately there are 2 areas that need to see enforcement but seem not to be on SCC's radar despite numerous complaints.

• The box junction on the exit of Meadowhall bus station. Buses regularly struggle to get out due to yellow box contraventions.
• Blonk St, entering from Wicker. Absolutely prolific illegal turns, usually by taxis
   

In another post you quite rightly said that not all bus gates are enforced by camera which I think is a mistake. There are 3 bus gates in the city that are regularly abused and should be enforced by camera IMO

• Commercial St > Angel St
• Fitzwilliam Gate
• Church St (signposted BUS and TRAM ONLY) excludes taxis yet taxi drivers ignore this and drive through anyway in both directions. 

Numerous complaints by whom to who?

 

Bus lane / gate cameras are generally located at places where public transport operators have complained that drivers contravening the restrictions are causing them problems / delays ( and there is evidence to support the contention).

 

There are regular meetings with operators at which these issues are discussed.

 

I would not expect them to introduce box junction / banned turn enforcement at every single location where there’s been a complaint.

 

Certainly the bus lane cameras can be moved and I’d guess the moving traffic ones are the same. Therefore once compliance is improved at a site, the camera can be moved to another one. 
 

Sites considered for enforcement are checked and any necessary work carried out to ensure ( as much as possible, because the independent adjudicators are the final arbiters of enforceability and they only rule on actual fines issued) that fines issued are actually enforceable. Bus gate/lane enforcement by camera is not as easy as you might think and some of the locations may not be suitable for camera enforcement for a variety of reasons.

 

 

[Resident 1,193]

31 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

Numerous complaints by whom to who?

 

Bus lane / gate cameras are generally located at places where public transport operators have complained that drivers contravening the restrictions are causing them problems / delays ( and there is evidence to support the contention).

 

There are regular meetings with operators at which these issues are discussed.

 

I would not expect them to introduce box junction / banned turn enforcement at every single location where there’s been a complaint.

 

Certainly the bus lane cameras can be moved and I’d guess the moving traffic ones are the same. Therefore once compliance is improved at a site, the camera can be moved to another one. 
 

Sites considered for enforcement are checked and any necessary work carried out to ensure ( as much as possible, because the independent adjudicators are the final arbiters of enforceability and they only rule on actual fines issued) that fines issued are actually enforceable. Bus gate/lane enforcement by camera is not as easy as you might think and some of the locations may not be suitable for camera enforcement for a variety of reasons.

 

 

Meadowhall and the 3 bus gates I know to have been complained about by bus operators.

Blonk St has been reported to police. 

[Martin C 85]

1 hour ago, Resident said:

 

Unfortunately there are 2 areas that need to see enforcement but seem not to be on SCC's radar despite numerous complaints.

• The box junction on the exit of Meadowhall bus station. Buses regularly struggle to get out due to yellow box contraventions.
• Blonk St, entering from Wicker. Absolutely prolific illegal turns, usually by taxis
  

 

I regularly walk past the Nursery St/Wicker/Blonk St junction and you are 100% correct with that one. Very rare not to see a nybody making this illegal turn (right into Blonk St) and usually taxis as you say.

[spilldig 190]

23 hours ago, whiteowl said:

I have no problem with it.

 

Optional taxation, if you don't want to pay then don't stop in the box junction.

Well I'm all for sticking to rules but let's have a look at what happens at some yellow box junctions.  If the road is not clear you stop just short of the yellow box, and sometimes you could be there all day because traffic coming in fill that gap up and unless you move and block that box yourself you are just stuck there with traffic honking at you from behind and pulling round and filling the space in front. My point being that it would not have to be enforced a  on half measure basis, now and again. It would have to be rigorously enforced 24/7  without fail on every vehicle every time if you could trust the council to do that.

[Resident 1,193]

3 minutes ago, Martin C said:

I regularly walk past the Nursery St/Wicker/Blonk St junction and you are 100% correct with that one. Very rare not to see a nybody making this illegal turn (right into Blonk St) and usually taxis as you say.

I've witnessed: 

Prohibited Right turn Wicker > Blonk St
Prohibited Left turn Blonk St > Lady's bridge, often then followed by a prohibited right on to Nursery St.

If authorities put a camera just on this, it'd probably pay for cameras to be placed in all the other locations. 

[Planner1 438]

33 minutes ago, spilldig said:

My point being that it would not have to be enforced a  on half measure basis, now and again. It would have to be rigorously enforced 24/7  without fail on every vehicle every time if you could trust the council to do that.

The moving traffic offences will be enforced by automatic cameras.

 

The council have many years experience in operating these.

[pfifes 309]

4 hours ago, Planner1 said:

The point is, that the council can only enforce where there is an actual parking restriction in place and even then, there are limits to the way in which they must enforce in order for the fine to be legitimate ( for example they have to give a 10 minute “grace” period for overstays on pay and display bays or, they have to wait a similar amount of time to check whether drivers who park on double or single yellow lines are loading/unloading where that is allowed.)

 

Enforcement isn’t straightforward, there are many nuances that the average person probably doesn't know / understand. The CEO’s can’t just rock up and start handing out tickets.

 

I mentioned “within the powers available to them” because many people seem to lack understanding on what the council’s civil enforcement officers (CEO’s) can do.

 

At schools, they can and do enforce the actual school entrance markings ( they have a camera enforcement vehicle they use for this). Other than that, unless a driver is contravening an existing restriction like a double / single yellow line, there’s nothing they can do. They go out every day enforcing at schools but there are a large number of them, so they can only cover a few each day.

 

Similarly, every day they have teams out patrolling the main transport routes in the city, but they can’t be everywhere. Drivers know this and push their luck.

 

Obstructing pavements by parking fully or partly on them can only be enforced by the police. The council has no powers to enforce this, unless there is a restriction in place that covers the pavement ( double and single yellow lines apply to the whole of the highway including footway and verge). 
 

So what you and many others feel is inconsiderate parking cannot be enforced by the council unless the government rolls out the powers to do so outside London ( where parking on footways can be enforced by councils).

 

The government are not keen to be seen as promoting “the war on motorists” as they clearly see it as a vote loser. Hence it has taken many years of lobbying by councils to get the powers to enforce box junctions and banned turns that London councils have had for many years. Similarly the government have talked about rolling out wider powers to enforce pavement parking for many years but have done nothing to action it.

 

The council used to be able to enforce no waiting no loading restrictions with the camera vehicles. Many penalties used to be issued in places like Burngreave Rd and I used to get complaints that there was too much enforcement. The government stopped this and made councils enforce with CEO’s on foot, which is far less efficient.

 

Local councils also have a political decision to make regarding to what extent they enforce. While I was at Sheffield we asked for more enforcement staff resource and were refused as councillors thought enforcement levels were about right and being seen as “draconian” was a potential vote loser. Efforts to introduce new permit parking zones have not been approved by councillors due to public opposition. Other councils in nearby towns give motorists greater leeway. One where I worked gave motorists double the legal amount of “grace” period. Another would not allow enforcement in the town centre on Sundays. 

 

Parking Services have limited resources, CEO’s work shifts and there aren’t that many of them on duty at any one time. The priorities for enforcement are agreed with councillors. These have generally included primary transport routes, city centre, permit zones, school entrances etc as you would expect. It’s a big city and they can’t be everywhere. Drivers know this and naturally push their luck.

 

”Marginal mistakes” as you put it at box junctions can have a significant impact on traffic flows and can have big impacts on buses. They are enforced by automatic cameras, so aren’t a drain on enforcement staff resources, therefore they have no impact on enforcement efforts elsewhere.

 

If you want pavement parking enforcement, you need to tell your MP and the government.

 

If you want more enforcement at local level, you need to tell your local councillors. But, be aware that there are equally vociferous people who don’t want more enforcement.

 

 

Thank you.  There is useful information in there albeit with a large amount of defensiveness towards the council.  I have previously signed petitions and contacted by MP about this, which short of starting my own campaign is probably about all I can do regarding government policy.
I think the issue is that pavement parking is becoming more and more frequent.  And this just encourages more motorists to do the same as it is  seemingly very little incentive not to.  I totally understand that the parking wardens can’t monitor very area constantly but what be done is to wallop a very hefty fine on those that are caught as a deterrent.  I understand that won’t be popular with some but neither were speed limits, seat belts and drink driving laws when they were introduced!!  

Edited March 7 by pfifes

[Planner1 438]

16 minutes ago, pfifes said:

Thank you.  There is useful information in there albeit with a large amount of defensiveness towards the council.  I have previously signed petitions and contacted by MP about this, which short of starting my own campaign is probably about all I can do regarding government policy.
I think the issue is that pavement parking is becoming more and more frequent.  And this just encourages more motorists to do the same as it is  seemingly very little incentive not to.  I totally understand that the parking wardens can’t monitor very area constantly but what be done is to wallop a very hefty fine on those that are caught as a deterrent.  I understand that won’t be popular with some but neither were speed limits, seat belts and drink driving laws when they were introduced!!  

I don’t think it is defensive, just pointing out operational practicalities.

 

From personal observations I’d agree that pavement parking is a growing issue. The government need to provide the tools for councils to tackle it.

 

Regarding “hefty” fines. The fine levels are set by government and it can be argued they aren’t a huge deterrent, but again, the government don’t seem inclined to allow councils outside London to charge more.

[spilldig 190]

21 hours ago, Planner1 said:

The moving traffic offences will be enforced by automatic cameras.

 

The council have many years experience in operating these.

That sounds like a workable system.