Battle of a bus lane
COUNCIL DEMANDS REVIEW OF LANE SIGNAGE DECISION
Reporter BRITAIN’S most infamous bus lane is at the centre of a new controversy.
Traffic bosses ruled on June 2 that the signage on Newcastle’s John Dobson Street’s northbound camera, which has snared thousands of motorists, gave inadequate warning to driversas they were approaching a bus lane.
A total of 62,975 drivers were caught between February 23 and October 31 2016, amassing a total of £1.5m for Newcastle City Council coffers – almost £6,000 a day – making the site Britain’s biggest earning bus lane camera.
Now, council bosses are demanding a review of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s decision in an attempt to find out exactly what is wrong with the problem signage, arguing the adjudicator’s decision acknowledged the current signage complies with Department for Transport requirements.
Tom Warburton, director of place at Newcastle City Council, said: “We have given careful consideration to the adjudicator’s decisions of June 2 and we feel we need further clarity from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in relation to our signage.
“Previous decisions have found the signage to be adequate and in the most recent cases the adjudicator has acknowledged that it complies with Department for Transport requirements.
“We need to fully understand what the exact issues with signage are in order for us to address any problems.”
The northbound camera was suspended once the traffic watchdog’s ruling was published, and will remain so until the process between the council and traffic watchdog is completed.
John Dobson Street’s southbound camera was found to be adequate and still remains active.
Motorists heading northbound will receive warning letters rather than fines, but drivers snapped southbound should still expect to receive a fine.
The multi-million pound transformation of John Dobson Street which introduced a segregated twoway cycle track, wider pavements and crossing points was completed in November last year.
More than 160,000 people every week use bus services which travel on the busy city centre road.