Leicester drivers warned new surveillance cameras to be rolled out at city center junctions

New CCTV cameras are to be rolled out at two yellow tape junctions in Leicester city centre. The cameras, located near St Margaret’s bus station, will allow Leicester City Council to fine drivers who block junctions.

The yellow boxes, one at the junction of Abbey and Gravel Streets and the other at the junction of Vaughan Way and Causeway Lane, are regularly blocked by motorists who break the law by entering them without being able to get out, disrupting bus services, blocking emergency vehicles and potentially causing gridlock, a Leicester City Council spokesman said.

The cameras will come into effect on Monday, May 27. However, there will be a temporary grace period for drivers still breaking the rules. For the first six months, drivers will receive a warning informing them that they will be fined for blocking the junction as enforcement begins in earnest.

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From the end of November, after the grace period, drivers who block either junction will be fined £70, reduced to £35 if paid “within days”, the spokesman said. Surveillance cameras will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “These new London-style yellow box junctions will be among the first outside the capital, where they have been used for many years to the benefit of all road users. Clearly marked yellow box intersections are there to prevent motorists from entering the intersection unless their exit is clear as required by the Highway Code.

“The new enforcement powers mean we can take more responsibility for ensuring traffic flows efficiently and safely, helping to tackle unnecessary barriers and congestion at these important junctions.”

The local council said the results of a public consultation on the proposals, held at the end of 2022, showed that almost three-quarters of respondents supported the introduction of cameras at the two junctions. The Department for Transport has given the council permission to use camera enforcement at those intersections.