New cameras on Coventry roads to monitor school drop-off drivers

New cameras could be installed to make sure drivers keep to a ban around school roads in Coventry. If approved, the devices would go up in September when new restrictions are brought in at four schools in the city.

The ANPR cameras would monitor the so-called 'school streets' that forbid drivers from using certain roads at drop-off and pick-up times on week days. Residents and other vehicles are exempt from the ban.

The scheme has been trialled in Knights Templars Way in Coventry since early February 2023. At the moment, drivers caught breaking the rules can be fined £50 by police.

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But if cameras are brought in and used for enforcement by the council, drivers breaching the restrictions face a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid in 21 days. Coventry City Council gained new moving traffic powers in July last year.

A council report says camera-based monitoring of the roads would start in September. Officials say this would transition to enforcement after a six-week monitoring and consultation period, and only if evidence supports it.

A senior councillor will decide on the move next week on Monday, June 17. Cabinet member Cllr Patricia Hetherton will also decide whether the scheme at Knights Templar Way should be made permanent, and if this should also get cameras in September.

Lessons from this scheme are given as a reason why the council is looking to monitor its new school streets with cameras. The restrictions there have been mostly self-enforcing, a council report admitted, as police pressures mean officers have not been able to visit regularly.

Evidence from residents and officers, backed up by traffic data from last month, shows many drivers are not following the restrictions despite clear signs, the report adds. According to a council survey of residents, most support the school street but a majority say it has not achieved its aims of making roads besides schools safer healthier and more pleasant.

"At present, residents do not consider that the scheme has made a material difference to the environment around the school gate," the report summarises. This is despite enforcement of the restrictions being a "key priority" for locals and a "critical factor" to the scheme's success, it adds.

The new school streets brought in this September were confirmed by the council in March 2023 and last scheduled to be introduced in February. The schools are: Stanton Bridge Primary School, Southfields Primary School, Ravensdale Primary School and Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School.

Streets that will be affected are Olivier Street, East and South Street, Ravensdale Road, and Potters Green Road.

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