Camera enforcement of bus lanes is set to be used in four more areas of the city in a bid to improve bus journey times and reduce carbon emissions.
The proposal follows traffic surveys which have revealed that up to 56,000 drivers are illegally using the bus lanes each month.
The cameras will be installed on inbound and outbound lanes on Duns Lane, Humberstone Road outbound, Narborough Road inbound near Fullhurst Avenue, and south of Marsden Lane, inbound on Lutterworth Road.
Cllr Adam Clarke, deputy city mayor for environment, said: “Surveys show that drivers are persistently using these bus lanes, causing buses to stop and start, increasing pollution and increasing journey times.
“It’s important the council does all it can to encourage people to take the bus, not least because transport is responsible for a quarter of our city’s carbon emissions.
Ensuring buses are reliable and have priority will help us to address the climate emergency declared last February.”
Traffic surveys carried out for 24 hours over seven days indicate that drivers are contravening the bus lanes at the rate of around 48,500 a month on Duns Lane outbound; more than 56,000 a month on Narborough Road; and almost 27,500 on Lutterworth Road.
The inbound and outbound bus lanes between Dysart Way and Forest Road were reviewed following a petition to the council in September 2018 raising concerns about road safety.
Counts taken here indicated around 7,400 contraventions taking place each month.
The cost of buying and installing the cameras, maintaining them for three years and putting in the signage required at the five sites would be around £207,000. The cameras would operate for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The cameras will be self-financing, with any surplus cash being spent on highway and transport improvements in the city.
This is one of a number of actions being carried out by the city council to tackle the climate crisis.
Experts now predict that unless drastic action is taken, we are less than 12 years away from global heating becoming irreversible, with catastrophic results. In response , Leicester City Council declared a climate emergency in February 2019.
Local initiatives such as creating more cycle lanes in the city, improving bus services, setting up a renewable energy company, installing more solar panels on council buildings and promoting take-up of electric vehicles are already under way.
The council also plans to consult on charging employers with parking spaces and investing this income in schemes to further reduce transport emissions.
With Government support, the city council could be on track to be carbon neutral before 2030.
Source : Leicester City Council News