Fines start Drivers are warned over Boots Corner route
UNAUTHORISED drivers using Boots Corner in Cheltenham have started being filmed. Gloucestershire County Council revealed it has switched on the new camera in the Clarence Street bus lane and any drivers breaching the trial closure will be fined.
The council had initially said penalty notices, when first introduced, would only be issued to repeat offenders .
The £60 fines – reduced to £30 if paid in two weeks – were originally scheduled to start on July 13 .
A council spokesman later confirmed they would not be issued until more signs, barriers and road markings were put in place.
This came after more than 60,000 unauthorised vehicles were driven through Boots Corner in the three weeks after general through traffic was barred from entry on June 28.
A series of signs were introduced on August 1, mostly on Royal Well Road, based on residents’ feedback.
Bollards blocking entry to Clarence Street from Crescent Place were also put in recently. One of the new signs reads ‘don’t follow sat nav,’ while another shows the difference in the rights of authorised and unauthorised vehicles.
The council’s parking manager Jim Daniels said: “The newly installed camera on the bus lane at Clarence Street in Cheltenham was switched on on August 10.
“This means that any unauthorised vehicle driving through the prohibited lanes at Boots Corner will be issued with a penalty fine.
“The camera at Boots Corner enforces the trial road layout which forms part of Cheltenham Borough Council’s transport plan.” conor.gogarty@reachplc.com