A temporary electronic sign has been installed to warn drivers of a notorious city ‘bus gate’ which has led to more than £460,000 in driving fines.
Notts TV News revealed in October that Nottingham City Council handed out £2.4 million in driving fines between January and September – and that £1.5 million alone had gone to the authority from people caught travelling in designated lanes or roads only meant for buses.
The street which led to the most fines in 2016 is Shakespeare Street, where a camera-monitored ‘bus gate’, through which only pedestrians and buses can pass, has resulted in penalties totalling £460,658.43p.
Several drivers have criticised the restriction – saying signs leading up to the camera are not obvious enough.
And this week Nottingham City Council has now installed a large, yellow electric sign on the side of the road warning drivers of the camera and that the street can only be accessed by buses.
However, the authority says the measure is only temporary and not in response to specific complaints about the way the restrictions are advertised.
The council said the sign is one of a number of mobile electric information boards which it deploys around the city and will remain in place for “a few weeks” before being moved elsewhere.
The street is a pedestrian zone and individual fines for driving in the bus gate vary depending on the contravention but tend to be around £60 per offence, dropping to around £30 if paid within 14 days of the date of issue.
Last year, the council accrued nearly £3 million for the same offences.
Prior to the installation of the electronic signage, some people said they thought signage was not obvious enough, but others said they thought the council’s approach was reasonable.
The council, meanwhile, insisted traffic enforcement is important for road safety and they had installed adequate signage to enforce the restrictions.
The second-highest area, Lower Parliament Street (westbound), generated £318,172 – all of which was extracted from drivers being in bus lanes – and Carrington Street, in third, accrued £95,920.
Roger Lawson, spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers, said in October the council was unfairly “trying to extract money from motorists”.
Top ten streets which have accrued the highest total of council motoring fines:
- Shakespeare Street (bus gate westbound) £460,658.43p
- Lower Parliament (westbound) £118,172
- Carrington Street bus gate (near Station Street) £95,920
- Cheapside / Poultry (bus gate) £95,420
- Milton Street (southbound) £80,069
- Friar Lane (bus gate) £71,878.52p
- Goldsmith Street £70,365
- Carrington Street bus gate (near Canal Street) £66,985
- Market Street (bus gate) £65,317.01p
- Carlton Street £57,306
Figures apply January 1 2016- September 30 2016
