Signs have been changed on a controversial city ‘bus gate’ after a High Court judge said they weren’t clear enough to motorists.
The camera-monitored section of Shakespeare Street resulted in fines totalling £460,658.43p being handed to drivers in the first nine months of 2016 – the most of any road in Nottingham.
But some drivers hit with penalties, including Dr Stephen Sutcliffe, appealed against Nottingham City Council.
Dr Sutcliffe took his fine to a tribunal in January this year, saying the signs were not clear enough, and won the case.
Then in March the council took another case to the High Court to ‘test’ if the signs, indicating the presence of the restrictions and cameras monitoring the street, “comply with the statutory requirements”.
This case involved taxi driver Mohammed Sattar, who was fined £60 by the authority for using the bus gate in November 2015, which was overturned by an adjudicator in May 2016.
But when considering the case a High Court judge said the signs were ‘inadequate’.
A spokesman for Nottingham City Council said: “When motorists received fines on Shakespeare Street, there were some cases where adjudicators upheld appeals based on signage.
“So, we suspended enforcement and asked a judge to tell us if our signs complied with the statutory requirements or not.
“We have now replaced the signs to reflect the court’s recommendation.
“We have removed reference to a pedestrian zone but kept the ‘prohibition of motor vehicles’ sign and resumed enforcement.
“The judgement doesn’t alter those cases where people have accepted a fine on Shakespeare Street.”
The council claimed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) legislation allowing the authority to restrict access on Shakespeare Street, created both a ‘bus gate’ and a pedestrian zone – although the street has no regular bus route services.
But the authority signed legislation stating the street is merely a pedestrian zone.
The earlier adjudicator’s decision ruled the street was, in fact, a bus gate – and the pedestrian signage is wrong.
The signs were taken down and replaced on Tuesday (May 30).
