First potential new fixed camera sites nominated

Wednesday, 16 April 2014 - 1:33pm

National News

Following an eight-month selection process, including extensive discussion with local traffic experts and consultation with residents and businesses, the first 12 potential sites to receive new fixed speed cameras have been nominated.

The sites, which at this stage are a combination of existing and new locations in Auckland and Wellington, will be confirmed and publicised as soon as the necessary engineering assessments have been completed, says National Manager Road Policing, Superintendent Carey Griffiths. Assessments at sites in other regions across the country will also be carried out over the coming months.

"Following a rigorous selection process, the engineering assessments at the first 12 potential fixed camera sites are now underway. This is a critical step in the process to ensure that the actual physical characteristics of the chosen sites are going to be compatible with placement of the cameras, before we can confirm the final locations," Mr Griffiths says.

"It's important to stress that these assessments will ultimately decide whether or not a fixed camera can be placed at a particular site – and that not all of the nominated sites may turn out to be suitable for installation of a camera and its associated infrastructure."

Mr Griffiths says during the assessments, engineers will consider physical factors such as the overall accessibility, safety and security of the site, along with road layout and any geographical features that may affect the camera's operation.

"That means we need to wait until the engineering process is completed before we can confirm the sites in more detail – but I can assure New Zealanders that these will be made public once confirmed."

The site selection process is an important step in plans announced by Police in July last year to modernise and expand its fixed (or static) speed camera network, which is almost 20 years old and uses outdated wet film technology.

This will see up to 60 new fixed cameras, which use the latest digital and radar based technology, installed gradually at sites around the country over the next 18 months. The first new camera is expected to be in place in June this year.

"The cameras will be placed in locations assessed as having a high crash risk, including those where people have died or been injured in speed-related crashes," Mr Griffiths says. "The assessment process uses expert independent analysis based on a decade of crash data, and in-depth knowledge from police and other local traffic experts. Our sole aim is to save lives, so these sites have been selected without fear or favour.

"Currently, about 140 provisional sites from North Cape to Bluff have been assessed as meeting the necessary criteria for potential placement of a camera, but we stress that these numbers are likely to change as further on-site assessments are carried out. The ultimate goal is to have a list of sites which the cameras can be rotated between to maximise our goal of achieving safer speeds and encouraging more motorists to slow down."

Police is currently still in negotiations with its selected camera provider regarding the fixed camera upgrade project, and will be in a position to formally announce the supplier, final number of cameras and other important details once these discussions have concluded.

For more information, go to: www.police.govt.nz/speed

ENDS

Speed camera site selection process:

• Last year, external experts developed a scientific method to identify 1,250 sites with proven risk for speed-related crashes, based on a decade of crash data.

• Those sites which didn’t meet the criteria for speed cameras were discounted. Then local traffic experts sifted through the attributes of more than 600 remaining sites at 13 meetings nationwide. That list has been further narrowed down to a current list of 140 potential sites across the country.

• Representatives from NZ Transport Agency, city and district councils, the AA, Road Transport Forum, Auckland Transport and Auckland Motorway Alliance and other key stakeholders all contributed to these meetings.

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