Speed cameras will be installed on two of city’s busiest roads

LONDON ROAD AND ANSTY ROAD SET TO BE MONITORED

SPEED cameras are set to be reintroduced on two of Coventry’s busiest roads in a bid to end needless deaths.

The average speed cameras would be set up on London Road and Ansty Road – and could be in place as soon as the spring.

Coventry City Council announced it was looking into the option back in September last year.

Councillors are due to meet next week to vote on whether or not the average speed cameras should go ahead.

On London Road, the cameras would cover the stretch between Asda and the Whitley flyover. Speeders on Ansty Road would be targeted between Clifford Bridge Road and Dane Road. If approved, they will be the first working speed cameras in Coventry since 2013 when all of the others were shut off to save money.

A report prepared for the council’s Cabinet committee states: “Although the overall accident rates are declining on Coventry’s road network, the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) on major routes, carrying high volumes of traffic is increasing.

“In addition to the human element, accidents have a major detrimental impact on traffic flow by increasing congestion, reducing capacity, worsening journey time reliability and affecting network resilience together with an adverse impact on the economy.”

Coventry City Council is the lead authority for the West Midlands on road safety. The move is part of its bid to cut the number of fatal and serious accidents in the city by 40 per cent over the next 10 years.

Latest figures from the council show 308 people have been killed or seriously injured on Coventry’s roads in three years.

Over a three year period, London Road saw 22 accidents, including three deaths and six serious injuries.

In a similar period, there were 32 accidents on Ansty Road, resulting in two deaths and five serious injuries.

Average speed cameras record the registration of a car and calculate its speed by measuring the time taken to travel between set points.

It means they can restrict speed over longer sections of road compared to fixed speed cameras, which only work at a specific point.

Fixed speed cameras detect the speed of vehicles by using detectors embedded into the road surface or radar technology. If the speed of the vehicle exceeds the legal limit, or a vehicle runs a red light, a digital picture is taken of the offending vehicle.

Speed cameras have been piloted in Birmingham and Solihull already, and the council says early results are “positive” with speeds cut by up to 20 per cent.

It will cost around £60,000 to install average speed cameras on a single stretch of carriageway, according to the council.

But they are expected to pay for themselves through the fines generated.