Grafton Road's ‘cash cow’ street camera rakes in £60,000 a month

Published: 2nd June, 2011
by JOSIE HINTON

LABOUR’S environment chief has vowed to remove a Gospel Oak “trap” that has raked in £5million from confused motorists.

Councillor Sue Vincent described the complex set of signposts at the en­trance to Grafton Road as “ridiculous” and said she would be taking action immediately.

More than 40,000 drivers were stung with pen­alties  between October 2006 and March this year – a rate of almost 800 a month. The road brings in £60,000 a month for Camden Council, making it one of the most lucrative traffic cameras in the country.

Despite a council spokeswoman defending the system last night, the environment chief step­ped in to promise she would take action. Councillor Vincent said: “It is an absolutely ridiculous situation that has been going on for too long. I will be getting on to this immediately.”

The New Journal has received numerous letters over the years from angry motorists caught in the Grafton Road “trap”.

Confusing signs ban vehicles from using the road between 7am and 10am from Monday to Friday, but only those travelling in one direction.

A separate sign warns drivers coming from the other end of the road that they should not pass between 3pm and 7pm. There are a further five signs: two no-entry signs, a width restriction sign, a cycle sign and a traffic camera sign.

David Howard, 51, who first wrote to the New Journal in August 2009 after being caught, said: “The road is designed to encourage you to go through. Every other road like this I’ve seen has a gate to stop you passing.

“I’m absolutely certain it’s deliberate. The signs are so small that you would have to slam on your brakes to see them, by which time you’ve probably already been flashed. This is the sort of behaviour you expect from crooks not from a council.”

Sharon Finmark, of Tufnell Park, said: “It’s ludicrous. Kentish Town Road is a traffic nightmare but when you take a back road you get done. They get you by the shirt tails.”

The road, divided into three sections, is a popular rat-run for parents driving to school who want to avoid busy Kentish Town Road.

The figures were released to parking campaigner Paul Pearson following a Freedom of Information request.

Mr Pearson, who runs the Penalty Charge Notice website, said: “It’s absolutely staggering. This is quite simply highway robbery. 

“These figures make this the most profitable parking camera in the country – and it’s in a residential street.

“It’s a trap. There is no clear signing to let drivers know the rules. This is a clear case of using cameras to raise revenue for a cash-strapped Town Hall.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The council has a duty to take action when motorists ignore traffic signs, and the large number of drivers who continue to ignore the traffic restrictions at Grafton Road despite clear warning shows there is still a need for cameras to be in place. We do not carry out enforcement activity to raise revenue. We use it as a tool to change the behaviour of motorists, ensuring traffic can flow easily, safely and without obstruction.”