New cameras set to crack down on drivers who use bus and cycle routes

Norfolk County Council has launched a consultation asking for feedback on proposals to introduce traffic enforcement cameras at a number of locations in Lynn.The authority says the proposals will help to improve road safety, air quality and congestion in key areas such as South Lynn.The locations proposed already have restrictions in place, but through collaboration with Norfolk Police, bus operators and local communities, it has been identified that drivers are ignoring them.

This is believed to be having an impact on “the safety and wellbeing of people in Norfolk” as well as adding congestion to roads.These cameras will mean that the county council can identify and issue penalties to drivers who ignore these restrictions and break the law on our roads.Locations being consulted on are: • Hardings Way/Wisbech Road – existing restriction permits only buses, cycles and emergency vehicles and is currently enforced with automatic bollards.• Hardings Way/Boal Street – existing restriction permits only buses, cycles and emergency vehicles and is currently enforced with automatic bollards. • Saddlebow Road – existing restriction permits only buses, cycles and emergency vehicles and is currently enforced with automatic bollards.• John Kennedy Road – existing 7.5t environmental weight restriction to prevent inappropriate use by larger vehicles through an air quality management area around Railway Road.Cllr Graham Plant, the county council’s cabinet member for highways infrastructure and waste, said: “We would like to hear the views of residents, transport providers, businesses and organisations – particularly those based near the proposed sites in King’s Lynn, Cromer and Norwich on what, if any, considerations we need to take before we start using camera enforcement at the proposed locations. “This technology helps us to keep our roads safer for residents which is paramount to everything we do.”The consultation is open until Thursday, November 7. You can take part by visiting the county council consultation hub at norfolk.citizenspace.com/consultation/tmo-enforcement-2024Elsewhere in Norfolk, people are also being consulted on these cameras being introduced in Bixley, Cromer, Stalham and Horsford.The council says that it will ensure that either advance warning signs are displayed or first-time warning notices are issued when enforcement is due to begin. Money generated from fixed penalty notices will first and foremost go towards running the camera system, obtaining vehicle details and preparing and posting letters.Any leftover cash will be put into the council’s highways fund.The police will still be able to enforce the traffic regulations at these locations, and any action taken by officers will supersede a fixed penalty notice.