Speed camera at notorious black spot rakes in $6.9m as bid for another northern beaches camera starts
A fixed speed camera has snapped more than 4200 drivers — in just 12 months — doing the wrong thing at a northern beaches accident black spot.
Manly
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A speed camera installed to help prevent accidents at a notorious northern beaches traffic black spot has raked in close to $1.6 million in fines in just 12 months.
NSW Government figures reveal the camera, set up at the top of the steep hill on Warringah Rd at Narraweena, snapped 4211 speeding drivers between July 2018 and June 2019.
And in the seven months to January this year, another 1831 east bound vehicles were caught speeding by the fixed camera near the intersection with May Rd.
Since it began full operation in February 2016, the Narraweena camera has led to more than 20,000 speeding tickets being issued and collected more than $6.9 million in fines.
Now there is a push on to install another fixed speed camera on the peninsula — on Powderworks Rd at Elanora Heights.
Northern Beaches Council voted unanimously in December to back a motion by Liberal councillor Rory Amun, seconded by Mayor Michael Regan, to write to the NSW Government’s Centre for Road Safety in support of the Council staff application for a camera
assessment on a section of Powderworks Rd, between Lesley Cl and Cooleena Rd.
Liberal MP for Pittwater, Rob Stokes, support the camera push and has written to Roads Minister Andrew Constance asking that transport officials conduct a “speed camera assessment”.
Former Roads Minister Duncan Gay, and Cr Regan pushed for the Narraweena camera to monitor trucks and cars heading east towards the intersection with Pittwater Rd at Dee Why after a series of terrible accidents.
On October 22, 2014, an out-of-control truck crashed into eight cars and injured six people, including two police officers.
In May, 2009, a truck crashed into three cars at the foot of Warringah Rd and in April 2000, 11-month-old Scott Steele died after a speeding, overloaded truck ploughed into his family’s stationary car near the bottom of the hill.
The speed limit for trucks going past the camera is 20km/h while light vehicles cannot exceed 60km/h.
Cr Amun told the council that Powderworks Rd, Elanora Heights was a known black spot with frequent accidents.
He said residents presented the council with a petition for consideration to be given to installing a fixed speed camera in the section between Lesley Cl and Cooleena
Rd.
Council officers noted that the location was not suitable for the use of mobile enforcement camera vehicles.
Other cameras on the northern beaches are also nabbing thousands of speeding drivers.
A speed camera on the southbound lanes of Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen, near Narrabeen Sports High School, dragged in $755,000 in fines, from about 2780 tickets, in 2018-19.
At the same location, in the northbound lanes, 1115 speeding drivers were caught during the same period.
The cameras on Harbord Rd, North Curl Curl, near The Freshwater Senior Campus of Northern Beaches Secondary College, snapped about 1400 vehicles breaking the speed limit.