NEARLY 400 warning notices have been issued since Reading Borough Council installed cameras at box junctions in east Reading.
The penalties are issued for drivers who stop in the yellow grid, contravening the Highway Code.
In November 2022, the council took over enforcement of the town’s box junctions – previously, it was up to Thames Valley Police to enforce the rules.
Initially, they installed number plate recognition cameras at two places on Kings Road, before being expanded. For the first six months, drivers were given a written warning. Now, a £70 penalty charge notice (PCN) is issued, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.
A total of 393 warning notices were issued for the first two locations.
There are concerns the yellow boxes do not comply with government guidance, with Sam Wright, the self-styled ‘Yellow Box Guru’ raising concerns over the Kings Road and Eldon Road junction.
Stephen Greaves, a chartered transportation professional with more than 30 years of experience also felt they were not compliant, while the AA objected to traffic enforcement powers being transferred to the council saying fines can be issued to drivers ‘often without cause’.
A council spokesperson rebuffed these arguments: “All yellow boxes which have gone live so far have been reviewed to ensure they are in line with current Department for Transport guidance and redesigned and re-marked where necessary before any enforcement began.”
And Tony Page (Labour, Abbey), the former lead councillor for transport said the council’s teams are ‘fully trained’ on enforcement, and those who believe they have been fined unnecessarily can appeal.
The figures for yellow box junctions were revealed in the council’s Annual Parking Services Report 2022/23 presented to its traffic management sub-committee on Wednesday, March 6.
Since the initial Kings Road schemes, cameras have been installed at box junctions covering: Queens Road/Sidmouth Street; Oxford Road/Bedford Road westbound; Oxford Road/Grovelands Road; Bath Road/Burghfield Road east and westbound; and Bath Road/Berkeley Avenue westbound.
Figures for warning notices at the five junctions will feature in the council’s Annual Parking Services Report 2023/24, which will be issued next year.
Enforcement of yellow boxes is to be rolled out on London Road at its junctions with Cholmeley Road, Eldon Road and Craven Road, and Kendrick Road.
