AVERAGE 20mph speed cameras are set to be introduced along Southend’s Golden Mile.

The average speed camera system, similar to the one along the A127 between Southend and Basildon and costing an undisclosed sum, will be paid for by Southend-based company Olympus Keymed, which develops and manufactures medical equipment.

Council bosses want the hi-tech camera system, put in between the new Mariner’s Square, Marine Parade, and the Three Shells cafe, Western Esplanade.

Marine Parade was reduced to 20mph after the £7.6million City Beach revamp, which involved narrowing the road, was completed in April. However, Western Esplanade remains 30mph.

The improvement plan, to be discussed by councillors next Thursday, also suggests introducing a partial one-way system in two roads off Marine Parade.

Tony Cox, the Tory councillor responsible for transport, said: “We want to keep traffic moving, to make sure the flow is constant without hold-up.”

The lack of crossings and warning signs along the Golden Mile since the expensive revamp has caused pedestrian safety concerns. However, Mr Cox said the plans had not been influenced by the complaints.

The improvements should also help stop boy racers speeding along Marine Parade and Western Esplanade.

He said: “Southend has always been a gathering point for cruisers. But the issue of cruising was not a primary factor in these measures.”

The council’s proposals include Hartington Road becoming one-way southbound from its junction with Lucy Road to its junction with Marine Parade.

Nearby Pleasant Road would also become one-way southbound from Hartington Place to Marine Parade.

A report by Cheryl Hindle-Terry, the council’s team leader for traffic management and road safety, states: “This would have a benefit for local residents as access from Marine Parade will be denied, residents will no longer have drivers travelling along looking for parking places.

“As a result the streets will become quieter and this will have a very positive effect on their environment.”

The report also includes a speed survey conducted by the council in Marine Parade over three days in May, which found that the average speed was between 18mph and 21mph.

Despite concerns about City Beach in terms of road safety, council bosses say they have no plans to introduce a crossings or warning signs.

The thinking behind the scheme is drivers, forced to share the area with pedestrians, will automatically slow down allowing people to cross.