| Technology Profile
Enforcement of traffic contraventions
to improve urban air quality
Above: School areas can
benefit from enforcement
Left: Blocking box junctions
leads to congestion
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March/April 2020 Traffic Technology International
Ensuring that roads in our
cities are used in the most
efficient way is a key part
of the process to improve air
quality. While changing road
layouts and timings of traffic
signals can help reduce
congestion, it is clear that much
more can be done to keep traffic
moving and minimise pollution
caused by idling engines in
stationary traffic.
CCTV enforcement cameras
can play an important role in
improving air quality for local
authorities that have assumed
responsibility from the police
for tackling moving traffic
contraventions such as box
junctions, banned turns,
restricted access, weight limits
and bus gates. While the ability
to enforce moving traffic
contraventions under the
Transport Management Act 2004
is only available to councils in
London and Wales, the
government has recently
signalled its intention to extend
these powers to all regions.
This is significant as it has
been widely reported that the
police are no longer carrying out
this enforcement in many areas
due to budget cuts and
manpower shortages. This
means drivers can flout these
regulations as the likelihood
of them being caught is so small.
The effectiveness of the
government’s Clear Air Zone
strategy will be impacted
greatly if most councils continue
to be prevented from enforcing
moving traffic contraventions
within these urban areas.
Bath example
The key to cost-effective
enforcement is to deploy a
multi-tasking digital video
platform that can support
multiple applications
simultaneously. Such a platform
is used by the City of Bath, one
Videalert software can
automatically analyse
CCTV footage to enforce
moving traffic offences
such as…
> Stopping on box junctions
> Making banned turns
> Entering restricted access
areas
> Exceeding weight limits
> Using bus gates
particulates, including nitrogen
dioxide and carbon dioxide.
Sensor data can reveal the
levels of gas and particulate
matter at different times
throughout the day and night
to illustrate trends in pollution
levels. It can also be combined
with data from installed CCTV
cameras to strengthen and
validate the business case for
the adoption of moving traffic
offence enforcement, to improve
the effectiveness of clean air and
low emission zones.
Videalert’s system can also
enforce parking restrictions
on school ‘keep clear’ zones,
thereby further reducing traffic
and emissions in urban areas.
One thing is certain –
congestion in our cities is a
major cause of poor air pollution
and the government needs to
take a holistic approach if the
full benefits of deploying clean
air zones are realised.
permit database allows realtime
checks of permits issued
reducing the time taken to
patrol resident parking zones.
The Videalert platform being
used in Bath will also support
additional cameras being
installed to automate the
management and enforcement
of Bath’s recently approved class
C clean air zone. The cameras
will provide real-time images of
every vehicle entering the zone,
data which is then assessed
based on vehicle class/
classification, engine type
and Euro standard rating to
determine whether the vehicle
has paid correctly. Those
vehicles that are either below
the required Euro rating
standard or have not paid the
valid charge will then be issued
with a penalty charge notice.
Measuring success
To assess the effectiveness
of traffic enforcement on air
quality, authorities can, for the
first time, measure the impact
of improved driver compliance
using the latest generation of air
quality monitors. These hyper
local devices use the same
infrastructure deployed for
CCTV enforcement cameras
for real-time data capture on
Videalert
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of the UK’s leading tourist
destinations and a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, which
draws over 3.3 million visitors
and 70,000 vehicles every day.
Bath uses CCTV to enforce
bus gates that reduce cross city
movements during peak hours
as well as monitoring bus lanes
on key routes into the city. The
hosted platform also integrates
with other applications, such
as permit parking, to drive
further efficiencies.
Linking mobile ANPR
vehicles, including the latest
ULEV (ultra-low emission
vehicle) mopeds, to the online
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