Skip to main content

Live traffic cameras help Durham Council cut congestion

Hosted video service provider NW Systems has designed and developed an 18-camera system for Durham County Council in the UK to help them monitor and manage city centre traffic congestion affecting the city’s main arteries during major road works, bridge repairs and traffic signalisation projects. NW Systems developed an HD quality camera system for the Council’s Traffic Signals and Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) team to provide real-time views over potential congestion hot spots associated w
August 5, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Hosted video service provider NW Systems has designed and developed an 18-camera system for Durham County Council in the UK to help them monitor and manage city centre traffic congestion affecting the city’s main arteries during major road works, bridge repairs and traffic signalisation projects.

NW Systems developed an HD quality camera system for the Council’s Traffic Signals and 3549 Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) team to provide real-time views over potential congestion hot spots associated with major repairs on a city centre bridge which handles approximately 48,000 vehicles each day.

During the period of the bridge repairs, traffic was restricted to one lane each way, potentially causing major congestion. A combination of early warnings to motorists and a proactive public information campaign aimed to keep the traffic moving.  

According to NW Systems, the new traffic cameras, combined with early warnings to motorists and a proactive public information campaign using the Council’s website, ensured that traffic volumes in rush-hours fell nearly 25 per cent below normal levels for the time of year.

Related Content

  • January 26, 2016
    Swarco signs aid peak time traffic flow on residential streets
    The London Borough of Camden has installed two Swarco Prism signs at either end of a width-restricted road in a bid to curb drivers using the road to avoid congestion during peak periods. The signs are timed to change at peak periods of day to create a short one-way section and ease traffic flow. Outside these hours, priority working signs manage the narrow stretch of road. The signs include integrated PC controls, which enable operators to remotely control and alter the timing of the switchover as req
  • November 23, 2018
    Cubic: predictive analytics is putting fortune tellers out of business
    The rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence means that fortune tellers will soon be out of business. Ed Chavis takes a behind the scenes look at the world of predictive analytics ver since organisations started taking advantage of insights derived from Big Data, data scientists concentrated their efforts on the ability to make correct assumptions about the future. A few years later, with the help of automation, developments in machine learning (ML) and advancements in the application of a
  • July 30, 2020
    Hikvision helps Xi'an traffic flow
    Congestion in ancient Chinese city has been eased with modern technology
  • December 3, 2015
    Beijing considers congestion charge
    According to Chinese website Xinhua, Beijing is likely to trial a congestion charge in a bid to address its congestion and air quality. Close to 5.6 million vehicles vie for space on Beijing's roads and vehicle emissions account for 31 per cent of the city's smog sources, according to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau.