Southampton City Council is helping six primary schools in Southampton deter people from illegally stopping and parking outside the school, and putting children’s lives at risk, with the installation of CCTV enforcement cameras.
Enforcement cameras have been installed at three of the schools and will be rotated amongst them over the course of the school year. Drivers found to be stopping or parking on the keep clear lines will receive a fixed penalty notice.
The six schools receiving the enforcement cameras are Sholing Junior School, Foundry Lane Primary, Ludlow Infants & Juniors, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Fairisle Infants and Juniors and St Monica Primary School. The CCTV enforcement cameras will operate in addition to the existing camera car, which has been in operation since 2016 to support enforcement of school keep clear zig-zags and bus stops across the city.
The camera car has been an effective deterrent, with the number of contraventions dropping since the start of the mobile camera enforcement, as a result of the fixed penalty notice. It has been well received by parents, with some schools requesting increased visits as there remains some locations where drivers continue to regularly park on school zig-zags. Rotating fixed cameras between schools will provide an increased deterrent and improve compliance at these locations, working alongside the camera car and foot patrols.
Councillor Steve Leggett, Cabinet Member for Green City and Place, said: “I’m delighted with this new initiative to further enforce the yellow keep clear zig-zag lines outside schools, that are there to keep our children safe when they cross the road.
“The yellow zig-zag lines are designed to prevent cars from obscuring the view of oncoming traffic, as well as to allow drivers to see when a child might be about to cross the road. This initiative is about stopping dangerous parking, not about collecting fines and our message is clear — park legally and responsibly and you won’t face a fixed penalty notice.”
Councillor Darren Paffey, Cabinet Member for Children and Learning said: “The safety of children and families around our schools is crucial, so I fully support the use of CCTV to deter people from parking on the yellow keep clear zig zags. The timing of the installation of the cameras coincides with children going back to school for the new term and will ensure that everyone’s journeys to and from school are safer.”