New traffic cameras will catch drivers making illegal manoeuvres at yellow box junctions

Sheffield City Council wants to spend around £144,000 to bring in ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras to catch drivers making illegal turns or halting in yellow box junctions on Queens Road/ Bramall Lane, Glossop Road/ Upper Hanover Street and for box junction offences on Hoyle Street.

Penalty charges will also be brought in for new bus gates and bus lanes. A six-month warning notice period will be applied for first-time offenders.

The council is taking advantage of new legal enforcement powers and regulations, a meeting of the waste and street scene policy committee (March 13) heard.

Coun Alexi Dimond commented that the rate of accidents resulting in deaths or serious injury is higher in Sheffield than in other core cities. He said that the government should bring in more powers to deal with issues such as obstructive parking.

“I particularly welcome this from a personal point of view,” he added. “I am a cyclist and I can say many times I’ve been overtaken by vehicles at the box junctions or Queens Road, with cars coming down the wrong lane or overtaking on the bus lane where there’s no space to do so.”

He urged more locations to be identified as it would help more children to feel safe to walk, cycle or wheel to school.

Coun Tim Huggan spoke about Glossop Road/ Upper Hanover Street: “I see it every time I walk in to the council – putting that in, is going to help so much because people know they can turn right and basically people are watching the next set of traffic lights across.

“It’s exactly the same as what Alexi has been saying – university students, me are in danger of getting run over the whole time by cars that are illegally turning right.”

Coun Mark Jones asked if there was any exemption for a driver who moved into a box junction to allow emergency vehicles through. Council officer Emma Barker said that there are checks for just reasons for exemptions.