Source: City of Plymouth
A speed enforcement camera is to be trialled on Victoria Road in St Budeaux, following concerns raised by local residents and ward councillors.
The static camera, which will be installed near the tennis club and play area, will be used to enforce the existing 30mph speed limit in both directions over a six-month period.
It is one of two being loaned free of charge to Devon and Cornwall Police by a new supplier on a temporary basis to test their operation.
Victoria Road has been chosen as a suitable site to deploy one of the cameras as it has seen a number of collisions in recent years, some involving serious and fatal injuries and residents have been pressing the Council to introduce measures to tackle speeding and improve safety.
It is hoped the camera will encourage greater speed limit compliance, as well as help reduce traffic noise along this busy route.
Councillor John Stephens, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “Victoria Road is part of our major road network and runs through a densely populated residential area. There have been a number of collisions there in recent years, some of which were speed-related and some that have resulted in fatalities.
“Local residents have been raising their concerns about speeding traffic for some time and we are pleased to have been given the opportunity to trial this camera enforcement free of charge. I hope it helps to remind drivers of the limit in place and deter the more deliberate ‘racing’ we often see along this road.”
The camera is expected to installed next week and will be fixed to a lamp column that will have yellow reflective banding. There will be warning signs on both approaches and it will operate in the same way as other standard speed cameras across the city (not as an average speed camera).
If the trial is successful the police hope to purchase the camera, which will then remain on Victoria Road.
The Council does not make any money from speed camera fines. Once police operating costs are met, any surplus from fines goes to Vision Zero and, by law, has to go into road safety measures.
Vision Zero brings together local councils, emergency services, health trusts, National Highways, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. Its vision is to cut the number of deaths and serious injuries to zero.