ILLEGAL parkers have been warned: “There’s nowhere to hide”.
Kirklees Council’s Cabinet last night approved a £100,000 plan for a camera car which will prowl the district looking for inconsiderate motorists.
A senior councillor believes the patrol vehicle will improve safety for children going to school.
Cabinet member Clr Cath Harris said: “There have been constant complaints from across Kirklees about parking outside schools.
“I very much welcome this opportunity to more effectively ensure the safety of children and their parents when they are going to school.”
The Labour Cabinet agreed to the £100,000 plan at last night’s meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall.
Fitting out the vehicle with camera equipment and software will cost £73,000, with another £27,000 to pay for an extra member of staff to verify evidence and send out £70 penalty notices.
Kirklees officers believe the increase in the number of parking fines will cover the camera car’s set-up costs within a year.
The patrol vehicle will hit the streets of Huddersfield on April 1 and will enforce parking regulations around schools, bus lanes, taxi ranks and cycle lanes.
The measure will be formally introduced after the equipment has been purchased and staff trained in its use.
The camera will be fitted to the roof of a current council vehicle and automatic number plate recognition used to identify vehicles illegally parked.
The evidence would be reviewed by a trained member of staff before any penalty charge notice was issued and photographic evidence would be sent to the address of the vehicle’s registered keeper.
Use of the camera would help keep bus lanes and cycle lanes clear of traffic as well as dual carriageways with waiting restrictions, zig-zag markings near schools and crossings and bus stops where disabled people can have difficulty boarding when buses are unable to reach the raised kerbs at bus stops.
The camera may also be used in areas where civil enforcement officers have been at risk of threatening and violent behaviour.
Cabinet member for transport Clr Peter McBride last night predicted the car would have a “huge deterrent” effect on inconsiderate motorists.
The Dalton Labour man said: “It’s hugely frustrating that the limited number of parking officers mean that illegal parking in bus lanes and outside schools can’t be fully policed.
“The mobile facility will mean that a much larger area can be covered and the evidence will be there without contradiction.
“The threat of this facility will have a huge deterrent effect on illegal parking.”
The Cabinet unanimously backed the plan.
In a report to councillors, Kirklees officers claimed the camera car was needed because parking wardens: “are regularly subject to unacceptable levels of threatening and violent behaviour, particularly in the evenings and weekends.”
