Holes Bay speed camera to be axed

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8838954.Holes_Bay_speed_camera_to_be_axed/?ref=mc

The reasons we know about so far are a bit vague and contradictory:

"It has proved so contentious that Poole council has now proposed it be shut down in a move driven by funding cuts.

Cllr Ron Parker, the council’s portfolio holder for transport, said: “It is likely that the Holes Bay camera will be going. We know residents are far from happy about the camera.”"

Residents unhappy? What happened to the “community concern”? (I know the answer to this question, it never existed!)

Driven by funding cuts? What about the £1 million income from this camera, a large proportion of which will be directly leached off by Dorset Road Safe through “driver awareness” courses?

Is it more likely the whole thing was a money making scam that they tried to keep quiet by trying to claim FOI exemption, and now they’ve been found out, they’re trying to get rid of it by blaming it on funding cuts?

The public are fed up with incompetence and lack of transparency. If it was a mistake, this should be the reason given, and those who argued for the camera must be disciplined / removed from their duties. If it was not a mistake, the many questions that have been asked and ignored must be answered, and a proper justification made for the camera, and if the scientifically calculated benefits of the camera on road safety suggest it should stay, against other potential operations and overall resources, (although this seems highly unlikely) then it should. There is a right way to do these things.

This is not just about this camera, which looks like it will be all in the past quite soon. It's about having the right people making the right decisions now for road safety and efficiency into the future.

The other point is that if rigid enforcement of the 30 limit is so unacceptable to the public that it has to be taken down, what does this mean? It means that the 30 limit is unenforceable – and what does this mean? It means the 30 limit is too low. Just like the increasing number of reduced limits in the area, most recently the Dorset / Canford Way. Local councils need an urgent injection of common sense.