Ealing Council To Start Issuing Fines in LTNs
Fixed penalty notices promised to drivers ignoring restrictions
A camera installed by Ealing Council on South Parade
Ealing Council have confirmed that the intend to start fining drivers ignoring access restrictions in the boroughs Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes (LTNs).
No fixed penalty notices (FPN) have been issued in LTNs since they were implemented, though the council says it has been monitoring compliance at road closure locations without physical barriers using CCTV and has been issuing warning letters where appropriate.
From 7 December drivers who contravene LTN measures could face an FPN of £130 or £65 if paid within 14 days. The council have not provided a list of where enforcement will take place but it is believed that primarily it will take place where cameras have been installed at locations where barriers were removed to ensure emergency service access. Additional enforcement is likely to be done by cameras mounted on vehicles operated by SERCO.
The council says that the majority of contraventions to date come from vehicles registered outside the borough and that enforcement will help it collect the most accurate data on the trial schemes to help decide the future of each LTN.
Local people are encouraged to have their say on LTNs via the council’s Commonplace website. The council says that at the end of each scheme’s experimental period, feedback from residents and data from two assessments will be considered before a final decision on each LTN is made.
Councillor Jasbir Anand, cabinet member for environment and climate emergency said: “We need to ensure that LTNs are successful in reducing heavy traffic in quiet residential areas and with the majority of contraventions currently coming from outside Ealing, full enforcement of the trial schemes will help us do just that.
“We are also working to collect the most accurate data possible on the trial schemes, so fully enforcing them will help make this data far more reliable when we use it to help make a final decision about each LTN.
“We are fully aware that local people have strong opinions about LTNs, both for and against, which is why it is vital that everyone has their say - this feedback will be used to help shape the projects going forward.”
Residents can visit the low traffic neighbourhoods' page of the council’s website for further information on the schemes.
You can email feedback to TrafficNotices@ealing.gov.uk, or post them to the Highways Service, Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, W5 2HL, quoting reference ORD XXX.
An online petition against LTNs in Ealing has been signed by over 10,000 people. A counter petition in support of the new schemes has, at the time of writing, over 800 signatures.
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December 3, 2020
