BRISTOL City Council has started enforcement action against drivers who make illegal left-turns at a busy Fishponds junction.
Left turns from Fishponds Road into Hockey’s Lane (above) were banned in 2011 as part of work to install a bus lane but are often ignored, with the result that drivers make illegal turns while pedestrian crossings are green.
There have been repeated reports of near-misses and demands for action to tackle the problem for years, including a petition calling for legal left turns to be reinstated and a call for traffic in all directions to be stopped while the pedestrian crossing is at green.
The council approved enforcement cameras and fines at the junction, by the former Farriers Arms pub between Morrisons and Aldi, back in December 2022.
It was given enforcement powers by the Department for Transport the following July.
Traffic cameras have been installed at the junction and their use to record drivers making the banned turn started on March 17.
Until September, any driver who ignores the ban will be sent a warning letter for a first offence.
If they breach it again the will be sent a penalty charge notice (PCN) of up to £70.
After September 15, the council says, anyone who breaks the rules will automatically receive a PCN.
The council is taking similar action on one-way streets in Lower Redland Road, Redland and Furber Street, St George, and at the Bath Bridges Roundabout/Cattlemarket Road junction in Lawrence Hill, and says all four locations have “a history of traffic contraventions, complaints, and damage caused by drivers”.
Council transport and connectivity committee chair Ed Plowden said: “By ignoring the rules of the road, drivers are endangering themselves and others. Taking on these new powers will mean we can play a more active role to tackle dangerous and anti-social driving.”