New cameras will be installed across the borough next month as the council moves a step closer to enforcing moving traffic offences using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).

The cameras will go up in April at all locations where there are yellow box junctions, no right turns and bus lanes and will start operating from June 2016.

The council is installing the cameras in response to residents’ concerns about traffic congestion. A trial of the technology took place last year as part of efforts to crack down on bad driving and keep the traffic moving on Merton’s streets.

ANPR records offences automatically on a database and are processed much more efficiently than at present.  Using this technology also frees up the time of civil enforcement officers who currently spend time looking at CCTV footage, to allow them to focus more effectively on handling residents’ complaints about badly parked vehicles and take action in areas where there is a consistently high number of traffic contraventions, providing a better service to residents.

The location of all moving traffic restrictions that are enforced by camera is on the council website.

Merton’s cabinet member for environmental cleanliness and parking, Councillor Judy Saunders, said: “Residents have repeatedly told us that congestion is one of their top concerns and keeping Merton moving remains one of our top priorities. Enforcing is one way of encouraging people to obey the law of the road. ANPR will allow us to do so much more efficiently and with 100% accuracy, while freeing up officer time to tackle other areas of enforcement such as badly parked vehicles on our pavements.”

For more information, visit www.merton.gov.uk/parking

ENDS