Now the council can fine drivers

WE'VE all been there: stranded helplessly in the middle of a busy junction after driving through lights at the last minute only to find our way blocked by a queue of cars at the other side.

Gillygate, Walmgate, you name it - the temptation is always there, especially at rush hour when we're tired, exasperated and desperate not to sit through another cycle of red lights.

We all know it's stupid, and that all we are doing is helping to bring gridlock to the streets.

The furious toots of the motorists whose way we have blocked, and that horrible feeling of being completely exposed, are almost punishment enough to stop us doing it. Almost, but not quite.

Soon, there will be another deterrent.

Under what York council's highways chief Peter Evely calls the "biggest and most far-reaching change in traffic management since the Highways Act of 1835," the council will soon have powers to issue £60 fixed-penalty fines to motorists who commit a range of minor traffic offences.

Stopping on the yellow cross-hatched boxes at a junction is just one of them. Others include:

u Turning right or left when you're not supposed to

u Driving into an area such as Coppergate when it is for pedestrians only

u Going the wrong way down a one-way street

u Stopping in a 'no-stopping' zone near a school

u Breaking weight restrictions by driving a heavy lorry or van down a street with a weight limit.

The new powers will be granted to local authorities under the Government's Traffic Management Act 2004, which in the way of these things only became law at the beginning of 2005. The council will no longer have to rely on over-stretched police to enforce one-way streets and pedestrianised zones. For the first time, the body which sets local traffic regulations (the city council) will also enforce them.

Nobody knows precisely how the system will work, and local councils are unlikely to get their new powers for 12 months or so.

But it is likely to involve a team of council 'enforcers' - possibly uniformed parking attendants with extended powers - roaming the streets with cameras, taking pictures of offending motorists. There may also be a number of fixed cameras at traffic hot-spots around York.

Motorists who have been flashed will receive their £60 fixed-penalty fines in the post. Pay within 14 days and you will get a £30 discount. Delay paying, and you may have to pay even more.

The system will, Mr Evely says, make a huge difference to traffic in the city.

For a start, the council will be able to crack down on selfish motorists in a way the police cannot do. Cars which stop in the middle of busy junctions simply because they insist on going past traffic lights even when the road ahead is blocked, or motorists who turn the wrong way out of side roads, are dangerous and can cause massive traffic snarl-ups, Mr Evely says.

In the past, the council was virtually powerless to do anything about them. Flout the rules in future, however, and you are much more likely to be caught and fined.

Another change will be that with the power to properly enforce traffic regulations in its own hands, the council is likely to impose more traffic restrictions in the city in future.

These could include more 'no stopping' zones near schools to reduce the risk to children. Traffic near schools is one of the issues members of the public say they are most concerned about, Mr Evely says. Again, in the past, even if the council had brought in more such zones, there would have been little chance of enforcing them.

Not any more.

Further down the line, it is possible the council could even declare a 'clean zone' in the city centre - into which, for example, only electric or LPG-powered cars might be allowed, to reduce pollution. Such a scheme is suggested in the council's recent local transport plan, Mr Evely says.

The ultimate aim, the council says, is not to victimise motorists but to make the city's roads safer and to reduce the congestion and traffic snarl-ups caused by selfish and inconsiderate driving.

During the next 12 months, Jim Breen - a strapping former police inspector who has been employed by the council to help implementthe new act - will be trying to identify 'hot-spots' in York which need to be targeted. He will also be assessing whether existing CCTV cameras can be used to help the council 'police' traffic. They may or may not be good enough to provide evidence of a sufficient quality to allow fines to be issued, he says.

The council will also be consulting on how best to introduce the new system - first with bus companies and taxi drivers and, when a draft plan has been put together, with members of the public.

Motorists are likely to moan at the thought of more fines and more traffic restrictions. But it should benefit everybody, Mr Evely insists.

"The traffic regulations are there for the protection of the public. But they are being abused."

Perhaps not for much longer.

Questions about the Traffic Management Act

How will the fixed

penalty notices work?

The council will be able to issue £60 penalty notices to motorists who:

u Stop on yellow boxes at junctions

u Stop in a 'no-stopping' zone near a school

u Turn right or left when they are not supposed to

u Drive into an area such as Coppergate when it is supposed to be pedestrians only

u Go the wrong way down a one-way street

u Break weight restrictions

It will NOT be able to fine motorists who commit 'endorsable' traffic offences, such as speeding. These will continue to be dealt with by the police.

Motorists who infringe a traffic restriction enforced by the council will be photographed - possibly by a hand-held camera, possibly by a fixed one: the details have yet to be finalised. They will then receive a £60 penalty notice in the post. There will be a discount for prompt payment - but if you delay paying, the fine will go up. As with parking fines, also administered by the council since October 2000, you will be able to appeal.

Will using traffic fines be a licence for the council to print money?

Under the new legislation, the council will set traffic regulations in the city - and fine people for breaking them. Peter Evely insists it won't be a license for the council to print money. The Government has made clear that local authorities should not use traffic enforcement to generate revenue. The system will have to be self-funding - in other words, the fines will have to pay for the council staff who enforce traffic restrictions, and for the equipment such as cameras that they use - but not profit-making.

So what will happen to any extra money collected in fines over and above that needed to operate the scheme?

"It will be retained by the council but must be invested in a certain area of the operation that the council carries out," said Mr Evely.

But if the scheme is generating income that can be invested in council operations - even if only in specific ones - doesn't that mean, in theory, that the council won't need to raise so much through council tax?

"It does help," says Mr Evely.

With elections not too far off, and despite the best intentions of officers, you can see those councillors' eyes lighting up already.

Will the rising bollards go?

With proper powers to enforce traffic restrictions, there might be no need for physical barriers such as rising bollards. "It may be possible to do things in different ways," says Mr Evely.

What about cyclists?

The council's new enforcement powers extend to all highways, not only roads - so that includes pavements and footpaths, too. Cyclists riding on pavements will not be photographed, however - cyclists don't have licence plates, so there would be no way to issue the penalties.

They will not necessarily escape scot-free, however. The council enforcers won't have powers to stop cyclists - but police community support officers do.

So it may be that the two could work together to crack down on pavement cyclists, says Jim Breen.

What other powers will councils have under the Act?

The new enforcement power is just one of a number of new powers and responsibilities local councils will have.

They will also be able to regulate when gas, electricity or water companies dig up roads - and they will have a statutory duty to 'proactively' manage roads to ensure all traffic (including pedestrians) is kept flowing smoothly.

In practice, that will involve working closely with organisations such as the police and neighbouring local authorities to ensure plans are in place to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible whatever happens - even when there is a major event such as Royal Ascot, or a serious accident. The Royal Ascot traffic plan used earlier this year could provide a model for a city-wide plan.

Updated: 11:15 Thursday, September 29, 2005