Quote: Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership, which has lost £600,000 funding from Oxfordshire, is prepared to open talks with communities who are prepared to foot the £5,000 a year bill themselves. It is believed to be the first partnership in the country which is ready to keep cameras going if somebody else is ready to pay for their operating costs. The decision by Oxfordshire to pull out from the partnership means that the 79 cameras in the county have been switched off, triggering road safety fears in some parts of the county. "We are looking at going out to communities that have expressed an interest and offering them a package to keep cameras running," said a spokesman for the partnership. "The cameras are definitely something we want to see continuing. Since the start of the partnership in 2000, road casualties have dropped by 50 per cent. It is not all down to cameras but we believe that they are a contributory factor." |