Skip to main content

Siemens enforcement solution for London primary schools made permanent

Siemens Mobility says a pilot scheme to improve road safety outside three UK primary schools has been made permanent. Siemens is monitoring newly-created pedestrian zones outside schools in the London borough of Croydon by deploying an solution which is more commonly used to enforce bus lanes and moving traffic contraventions. The system, which uses automatic number plate recognition technology and features Siemens ITS LaneWatch cameras, operates during the morning and afternoon school runs. It appears
October 18, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

120 Siemens Mobility says a pilot scheme to improve road safety outside three UK primary schools has been made permanent.

Siemens is monitoring newly-created pedestrian zones outside schools in the London borough of Croydon by deploying an solution which is more commonly used to enforce bus lanes and moving traffic contraventions.

The system, which uses automatic number plate recognition technology and features Siemens ITS LaneWatch cameras, operates during the morning and afternoon school runs.

It appears to have acted as a deterrent. “At one school almost two thirds of pupils are now walking, cycling or scooting to school, compared with barely half this time last year,” says councillor Stuart King, cabinet member for environment, transport and regeneration, at Croydon Council.

Child safety during school runs has become a hot button issue for local councils as parents routinely double-park or contravene zig-zag line restrictions outside schools to drop their children off.

Local authorities are seeking solutions: Videalert is using a %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36957 0 link-external mobile enforcement vehicle ITS International article link false /categories/enforcement/news/videalert-mev-operating-at-school-locations-in-north-east-england/ false false%> at other UK schools, for example.

Noel Frost, head of enforcement for Siemens ITS, says the cameras in Croydon remotely access operating schedules and authorised vehicle lists to make sure they are capturing correct information.
 
Cameras are mounted on existing street lighting columns to monitor vehicular access to the restricted areas. The system identifies potential contraventions in real-time using any number of permitted vehicle lists, the company adds.

These cameras gather video evidence before and after activation and record a contextual overview and a still image of a vehicle registration mark to help operators determine any extenuating circumstances for the contravention.

The encrypted recorded evidence is transferred from the camera using the using the in-built 3G/4G cellular transmitter and then processed on the Siemens hosted core server for operators to review. This team can turn the evidence into a penalty charge notice.

The schools involved are Heavers Farm and St Chad’s in Selhurst and Woodcote in Coulsdon.

Related Content

  • Videalert provides full time enforcement with part time workload
    March 19, 2014
    Videalert says its algorithms on automated enforcement can reduce the workload on staff while providing an effective deterrent to offenders. Colin Sowman reports. While members of the public may believe that the enforcement of parking regulations, bus lanes and box junctions has no practical benefit and is purely a money-making operation, for many authorities the opposite is true. Enforcement is a loss-making but vital exercise as illegally parked vehicles create obstructions and dangers leading to gridl
  • Petrol/diesel cars could be fined for using London’s ‘electric streets’
    September 4, 2018
    Drivers in London, UK, could be fined £130 for not using electric or hybrid vehicles on nine ‘electric streets’. The project is intended to cut pollution and improve air quality. Drivers of petrol and diesel cars will be restricted from using some roads in the Shoreditch and Old Street areas of the city between 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm on weekdays.
  • UK city council adds school safety solution to hosted civil enforcement platform
    August 30, 2016
    Portsmouth City Council is adding school safety to the range of enforcement applications running on its hosted digital video platform. The council has started by deploying the Videalert system outside schools where illegal parking in keep clear areas has been identified as putting children’s lives in danger.
  • Bus lane enforcement reduces costs, journey times
    May 4, 2012
    The Southcote Lane site in the UK town of Reading is a notorious shortcut for motorists travelling into the town centre. The resultant congestion at the end of the bus lane, when motorists tried to re-enter the main traffic flow, caused congestion and disruption to bus timetables. Reading Borough Council wanted a cost-efficient, effective solution to accurately capture bus lane violations and improve bus travel times. Reading became the first local authority in the UK to deploy Siemens's LaneHawk fully auto