Tech could save ‘rat run’
NUMBER PLATE RECOGNITION PLAN TO PREVENT CONGESTION IN FULHAM STREET
The ‘high tech’ plan to stop nonlocals driving through Fulham’s residential streets in midst of Harwood Terrace row is revealed.
Harwood Terrace will stay closed for up to six weeks after the trial finishes, until the NPR cameras are up and running
Hammersmith & Fulham Council wants to install cameras with number-plate-recognition (NPR) technology at entrances to Imperial Road, Bagleys Lane and Harwood Terrace.
Fines would be issued to motorists who have not joined a “registration scheme”, via an app, that would give drivers a permit to enter those roads.
Drivers eligible for a permit will include all Hammersmith and Fulham residents, local residents’ guests, delivery drivers, taxis, buses and emergency vehicles.
This proposal was unveiled at a
ADVERTISING FEATURE cabinet meeting on March 2, which heard that the trial closure of Harwood Terrace has had mixed effects on traffic in surrounding streets.
Explaining the proposal, chief officer for public realm, Bram Kainth, said: “You would have four control points: at Imperial Road next to the pedestrian crossing, on the eastern end of Harwood Terrace, and in Bagleys Lane.
“This would significantly reduce the traffic in the whole area as well as the SW6 area.”
The six-month trial closure of Harwood Terrace, which began in October, will officially end in late April. It is all but certain to remain closed until a new trial of this NPR scheme commences, which could take up to six weeks, Mr Kainth said.
He then explained that 92 per cent of traffic in the area comes from people who live outside the borough, and said the idea was to prevent “rat running” by drivers who are not local.
Council leader Stephen Cowan said “mistakes” had been made in the run-up to the closure, which was preceded by a consultation shared with just 40 addresses.
Hundreds of residents in the Sands End area of Fulham complained congestion and air pollution increased as a result of closing Harwood Terrace.
Replying to comments from James Spokoini, who coordinates the SW6Traffic campaign, Mr Cowan said: “We don’t agree with everything you have said but we absolutely accept that this has not been handled well from the beginning, but once a trial experiment began it needed to be followed through in order to get the data.”
Mr Spokoini urged Mr Cowan to carry out a new public consultation with hundreds of residents before committing to a trial of the NPR system.
One councillor who wished to be anonymous said he didn’t think the
NPR scheme would make a big difference to the increased congestion in Bagleys Lane, because less than 10 per cent of its traffic is from local drivers.
Harwood Terrace resident Nick Smith argued the closure had been “a success” and quoted council traffic surveys which suggest seven local streets have seen a net reduction of thousands of vehicle journeys per week.
Mr Kainth added: “What we’ve found from looking at the data is around 12,000 extra cars a week in Bagleys Lane going northbound and southbound.
“We have seen considerable extended bus journeys times, and actually there’s been a positive effect on traffic reduction in Wandsworth Bridge Road and in King’s Road.”