Speed cameras revenue raisers? Does the westgate bridge really need them?

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

First of all, I read this:

West Gate stalling city traffic flow

Strangled by traffic: travelling on the West Gate Bridge in peak traffic periods is a slow and frustrating experience.

THE West Gate Bridge is slowly succumbing to paralysis. From 1994 to 2004, the average peak-hour travel time between the Western Ring Road and Kings Way more than doubled — from just over 11 minutes to more than 25 minutes.

In 1994, the average travel speed in the morning peak between Williamstown Road and Cook Street was 80.7 km/h. Last year, the average speed for the same stretch of bridge was 49.6 km/h. At the busiest times in the peak period, the entire crossing is a virtual logjam.

As the State Government and Opposition work on plans for an alternative to the bridge, Government figures show what thousands of daily commuters have long known — the bridge is a car park with bay views.

http://theage.com.au/news/national/w...191610133.html

Then, within hours of reading that, I read this:

Faulty speed cameras fixed

MOTORISTS speeding over Melbourne's largest bridge could be in for a nasty surprise as speed camera's installed on the bridge are switched on for the first time.

Cameras were installed on the West Gate Bridge more than two years ago, but were never used as faults with speed cameras on the Western Ring Road were discovered in November 2003.

The state government was last year forced to reimburse $26 million to motorists for fines as well as compensation for 1,500 lost licences over the speed camera fiasco.

But Victoria Police and Emergency Services Minister Tim Holding said the $2 million upgraded camera system installed on the bridge would be subject to a stringent maintenance program and fixed problems with the old-style cameras.

The four new cameras check motorists' speed twice, using two different methods, before photographing the offending vehicle, Mr Holding said.

The cameras' housing had also been upgraded to shield them from possible electromagnetic interference.

Mr Holding said the system would boost safety on the West Gate Bridge, which he said was one of Melbourne's most notorious blackspots.

He said 89 people were injured in crashes on the bridge between July 1999 and June last year.

"Speed cameras are about changing the attitude and behaviour of Victorian drivers in the same way a cultural change for wearing seat belts and drink-driving has been achieved," Mr Holding said.

http://australianit.news.com.au/arti...nbv%5e,00.html

Need I say any more? :