An enforcement camera is set to be installed on a route to Clacton Pier to deter hundreds of motorists illegally using a street already banned to traffic.
The enforcement of the bus gate at Pier Avenue in Clacton was requested by Essex Police on safety grounds due to the number of vehicles contravening a current restriction and causing safety issues at the pedestrian crossing just after the bus gate.
A recent survey indicated that there is on average 350 contraventions per day.
Essex County Council says it can expect to start enforcing the bus gate at Pier Avenue in Clacton via camera on November 7.
The camera is set to be activated on Thursday, October 10. It will then be switched off after two weeks, while warning letters are issued to anyone who drove through the bus gate in that two-week period.
The camera will then be switched on again with penalty charge notices issued to anyone driving through the gate after that point.
Penalty notices will be issued at £70, reducing to £35 if paid within 14 days or increased to £105 if paid after 28 days of notice.
A bus gate was started at Pier Avenue in 2007. It applies to northbound traffic on the southern part of Pier Avenue and prohibits vehicles from making a left turn into Jackson Road.
In 2009 Essex County Council took a decision to enforce certain bus gates and enforcement commenced in 2013. The Clacton Pier bus gate was not one of the sites selected for enforcement.
But in May 2021 Essex Police asked Essex County Council to start enforcing the bus gate at Pier Avenue primarily for safety reasons. There is a pedestrian crossing just after the bus gate at which there have been near misses.
A draft letter to be issued to driver contravening the bus gate said: “Once installed the camera is turned on to issue warning notices for a period of two weeks to capture persistent offenders to warn them that the bus gate will be enforced soon and Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) will be issued if they continue to contravene the restriction.
“We then turn the camera off for a period of two weeks to allow these letters to reach peoples addresses, we then turn the camera back on to issue PCNs.
“This process is National Best Practice and is agreed by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal as the correct method to start to enforce a bus gate.
“The current position at this location is that the camera has been issuing warning notices for a period of time and will shortly start to issue PCNs to vehicle owners of the vehicles that contravene the regulation.
“We wanted to get in contact with you to advise you of this before the camera is switched on, so that you have the relevant background information. “
A statement as part of the decision set to be made by councillor Tom Cunningham, cabinet member for highways infrastructure and sustainable transport, said: “The enforcement of the bus gate at Pier Avenue in Clacton was requested by Essex Police on safety grounds due to the number of vehicles contravening the restriction and causing safety issues at the pedestrian crossing just after the bus gate.
“The enforcement will reduce the level of contraventions making the pedestrian crossing safer for the public, as well as reducing the number of vehicles that may adversely impact of public transport services.”
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