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Join my facebook campaign to stop the scamming of the Boswell Street Scamera!!!
The Camden Council scamera at the junction of Boswell Street & Theobalds Road penalises motorists for performing what is to my mind a perfectly legal manouevre. When one gets 'caught out' by this scamera one receives a notice of a £120 fine imposed by Camden council for:
Failing to drive in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign (proceeding in the wrong direction).
The council are attempting to prevent drivers from turning from Boswell Street into Drake Street. This is achieved by placing a barrier in the middle of Theobalds Road forcing drivers to turn left prior to executing the right turn into Drake Street.
The following Evening Standard article highlights a successful appeal:
Motorist's victory over £1m traffic spy camera | Evening Standard
the original of which is here:
My car was recently photographed executing this exact manoeuvre. Despite complying with the left turn sign, I am being fined for the following manoeuvre.
At no time has my vehicle proceeded in a direction opposite to the required traffic flow and so cannot be deemed to have proceeded in the wrong direction as they so eloquently put it.
Camden Council's view is clearly laid out here:
Camden Council: Discussions: Committee documents
QUESTION 15 (Written)
TO THE: EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR ENVIRONMENT
BY: COUNCILLOR SUE VINCENT
Please could the Executive Member for Environment explain why steps other than CCTV have not been taken to discourage u-turns for cars following the enforced left-hand turn on Boswell Street in Holborn? How much money has the Council raised from this over the last two years? Will the Council consider a build-out or physical measures to stop u-turns rather than using the cameras as a source of revenue for the department?
REPLY:
Firstly, it should be noted that the existing street signage and road markings at this location clearly indicate that all vehicles must ‘proceed left’ at the junction. If vehicles continue straight on over Theobalds Road and right onto Drake Street/Procter Street rather than proceed as directed, this is not a u-turn but it does represent a moving traffic contravention.
To clarify, the CCTV enforcement camera at this location is used simply to deter manoeuvres that potentially have both traffic flow and driver safety implications. The fact that this is working effectively is supported by looking at the amount of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued: in 06/07 the number was over 30% lower than those issued the previous year (when Camden was a Labour council).
While it is a natural consequence that income will be generated, this is certainly not the intention. Indeed, if drivers adhere to the street signs there will be no PCNs issued and in turn, no income for the Council. However, while falling, the number of contraventions at this location does suggest that drivers continue to act irresponsibly and this led to a total derived income (before any costs are considered) over the past two financial years as follows:
01/04/2005 - 31/03/2006
Total issued Total Paid Amount
15165 12879 £741,535
01/04/2006 - 31/03/2007
Total issued Total Paid Amount
10591 8859 £511,464
Please note that these figures cover all moving traffic violations recorded by CCTV at this location, not just those to which Councillor Vincent refers.
With regard to further physical measures at this location, I can advise that under the Bus Route 38 scheme (Bloomsbury Way section) there is a proposal to extend the island which runs along the centre of Theobalds Road. This should make it far more difficult for drivers to continue to make the movement from Boswell Street into Drake Street/Procter Street.
The scheme is fully designed and ready to be built but Camden are still waiting for Traffic Management Act (TMA) approvals from Transport for London’s (TfL) Network Assurance team. We cannot start work until this approval is given.
Ideally the project will start after the resurfacing works are completed in Kingsway in December 2007, but they may well be delayed further due to the extensive number of other works in the area e.g. Tottenham Court Road Station Redevelopment and St Giles Court Development to name a few. TfL’s Network Assurance team are concerned that if the Bloomsbury Way section of the Route 38 project is built at this time, that there will be too much delay to traffic in the area.
It's daylight robbery if you ask me.
I propose we all approach Camden to have this scam stopped!!
Who's with me?
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Originally Posted by The Mock Turtle
