Liverpool City Council has activated additional automated cameras designed to regulate moving traffic offenses. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are being installed at several locations as part of new enforcement powers aimed at reducing congestion, improving air quality and road safety, and promoting sustainable travel.
The Traffic Management Act (2004), Part 6, enables authorities to penalize poor driving behavior that formerly could only be imposed by police under criminal law. Liverpool City Council received these powers from the Department of Transport and is using cameras to supplement its existing efforts to address unlawful and dangerous driving.
Enforcement cameras went live in November on Lime Street and Ranelagh Place in the city center, with warning notices being released for first-time violators. There have been over 8,500 notifications issued during this time. Repeat offenders who disregard traffic instructions on Lime Street will be subject to £70 fines this week.
In addition, four new locations have launched a second camera phase, with warning notices sent to first-time transgressors but no fines enforced immediately, following DfT guidelines. The locations are St. Anne Street outside the fire station, Whitechapel at Crosshall Street, and two “school streets” that APNR cameras will monitor. The streets are pedestrian and bicycle zones are not accessible to vehicles yet, exceptions would be blue-badged visitors, those loading or permit holders.
Existing ANPR cameras traffic cameras complement recent adjustments to the city’s highways network, such as the modernization of The Strand and Lime Street, and the rise of cycle lanes being introduced throughout the town. The new ANPR cameras will help to enforce the highway code and enhance behaviors on significant junctions both in the city center and close to schools. The Council wants to train drivers to be more patient and ideally to discourage individuals from driving — most car trips in the city are under 5 km, the majority of which can be made by alternative means. The Council is supporting efforts to improve public transport and investing millions of funds in active travel infrastructure to make walking and biking more secure and more comfortable.
Councillor Dan Barrington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said that road safety is of utmost concern to the council. These new enforcement powers for moving traffic contraventions are a core component of a broader scheme aimed at enhancing road safety throughout the city
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