Preston city centre traffic cameras move a step closer as drivers confess to ignoring no entry sign

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Drivers have admitted travelling the wrong way along a one-way street in Preston city centre - in a brazen attempt to persuade highways bosses not to install cameras that would catch them in the act.

The startling confessions were made by several motorists who responded to a public consultation into plans to enforce a no entry restriction on Charnley Street, close to the underground entrance to the Fishergate car park.

Lancashire County Council recently invited comments on a proposal for it to apply to the government for the power to issue fines over so-called “moving traffic offences”, which is currently held solely by the police.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The authority had to specify the initial locations where it would make use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras designed to deter a range of illegal manoeuvres.

The signs at the junction of Charnley Street and St. Wilfred Street are clear - but they could soon be joined by cameras to ensure drivers stick to the rules (image: Google)The signs at the junction of Charnley Street and St. Wilfred Street are clear - but they could soon be joined by cameras to ensure drivers stick to the rules (image: Google)
The signs at the junction of Charnley Street and St. Wilfred Street are clear - but they could soon be joined by cameras to ensure drivers stick to the rules (image: Google)

Charnley Street was chosen because of concern that the rules on the short one-way section of the road - between St. Wilfrid Street and Corporation Street - were being routinely flouted by motorists seeking a shortcut to avoid just such a camera set-up monitoring the infamous Fishergate bus lane nearby.

County Hall said that drivers were taking to Fox Street and St.Wilfrid Street, before heading down Charnley Street itself - against the permitted flow of traffic - to get out onto Corporation Street.

Several of those who responded to the consultation freely admitted to doing just that - with one even stressing that they had never encountered a problem when making the prohibited trip.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, their candour in the anonymous survey has nevertheless sent them down a dead end, because the county council is pressing ahead with its plans to erect cameras at the location - in spite of the protestations it received - as a result of concern over the danger being posed to other motorists and pedestrians.

Corporation Street and Ringway are within sight for drivers halfway along Charnley Street, but their path is blocked - or at least it should be - by a no entry point (image: Google)Corporation Street and Ringway are within sight for drivers halfway along Charnley Street, but their path is blocked - or at least it should be - by a no entry point (image: Google)
Corporation Street and Ringway are within sight for drivers halfway along Charnley Street, but their path is blocked - or at least it should be - by a no entry point (image: Google)

The authority will now submit its application to the government, which, if approved, will allow County Hall to carry out ANPR enforcement of a restriction at another Preston junction just a quarter of a mile away - the U-turn prohibition for vehicles on Ringway at the traffic lights where the busy route meets Bow Lane. Two other locations are also in line for cameras to enforce rules that are being ignored in Lancaster and Accrington.

Unlike the other the other three suggested camera sites, Charnley Street has not seen any recent injury-causing accidents - but highways officials were concerned that the potential for conflict between vehicles emerging illegally onto Corporation Street and those lawfully turning in would come at the narrowest point in the road and could embroil pedestrians who would be crossing in that area, one of whom described the location as like "the wild west".

The county council also rejected suggestions that the one-way system should be removed entirely - as it was briefly during the early part of the pandemic - in order to allow traffic leaving the city centre to take a quicker route onto the A59 or Fishergate Hill, instead of having to make a detour through Avenham. The latter option is currently the only legal way for motorists to avoid the Fishergate "bus gate", as it is officially known, which operates between Mount Street and Corporation Street from 11am until 6pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Charnley Street proved the most contentious of the proposed ANPR locations, with a clear majority of consultation respondents - 62 - claiming that there was no issue that needed to be addressed, compared to the 43 who acknowledged that there was a problem. The county council did not reveal exacty how many people admitted to ignoring the one-way rule in force on the street.

There are concerns that pedestrians could get caught up in a crash caused by a vehicle illegally coming out of Charnley Street onto Corporation Street (image: Google)There are concerns that pedestrians could get caught up in a crash caused by a vehicle illegally coming out of Charnley Street onto Corporation Street (image: Google)
There are concerns that pedestrians could get caught up in a crash caused by a vehicle illegally coming out of Charnley Street onto Corporation Street (image: Google)

Opinion was more finely split over the benefits of enforcing the no U-turn restriction on Ringway at the Bow Lane traffic lights, along with the right-turn ban for outbound Ringway traffic onto Marsh Lane at the same junction. County Hall was concerned that the outlawed manoeuvres - if undertaken regardless - risked the safety of pedestrians, who could be confronted with a vehicle even when the green man was lit in their favour.

While some responses argued that few pedestrians used the junction anyway, others acknowledged that those who did took their lives in their hands because of the possibility of unlawful and unexpected U-turns. The junction has seen four accidents in the last five years - and 58 people who answered the consultation survey recognised that there was an issue, while 52 did not.

Outgoing cabinet member for highways and transport Charlie Edwards said that the bid to acquire the new enforcement powers was an “important and exciting piece of work…to address some of the long-running issues that we face.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He added: “It's very clear that there is a strong…case for carrying out enforcement in these areas, because there are accidents, [the locations] are attracting a lot of public complaints and everything we are trying to do is make highways as safe as possible - [so] this is a really positive step forward.”

Motorists like this one making a U-turn on Ringway will be fined if and when cameras start watching over the junction (image: Google)Motorists like this one making a U-turn on Ringway will be fined if and when cameras start watching over the junction (image: Google)
Motorists like this one making a U-turn on Ringway will be fined if and when cameras start watching over the junction (image: Google)

GREEN LIGHTS ALL THE WAY?

If the government gives Lancashire County Council the go-ahead for its plans, it will then be able to use ANPR monitoring of turning restrictions and yellow box junctions at other danger spots without having to seek further permission, although it would still carry out local consultations.

The authority will gain no control over speed enforcement or highway obstruction, which will remain the preserve of the police - and officers will continue to be able to enforce the movement restrictions over which County Hall will also now gain control.

For the first six months after any ANPR camera installation, a driver committing a first offence will be given a warning to educate them about their breach of the rules - but repeat offenders will be handed a £70 fixed penalty notice, which will be halved if paid within 21 days.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

County Hall expects that moving traffic enforcement will pay for itself via the penalty notices generated. However, a report presented to cabinet members predicts that there will be far fewer breaches of general movement restrictions than of bus lanes and bus gates, where the authority already has the necessary powers to issue fines.

The ANPR kit and its installation is expected to cost between £20,000 and £25,000 at each location. Any surplus that is ultimately generated would be ploughed back into highways and transport in the county - including schemes to encourage more cycling and walking.

News you can trust since 1886
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice