Councils in North East England receive funding to upgrade traffic management technology.

The UK Government has announced fund valued £3.64 million ($4.79 million) to upgrade the traffic management technology and improve journey times across the North East Combined Authority area (NECA). It will include upgrades to traffic signals on key regional routes with Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras, Variable Message Signs and integration with public transport data from Nexus. The Department of Transport paid £2.8 million ($3.6million) of the fund and the rest came from local authority contribu
October 27, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The UK Government has announced fund valued £3.64 million ($4.79 million) to upgrade the traffic management technology and improve journey times across the North East Combined Authority area (NECA). It will include upgrades to traffic signals on key regional routes with Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras, Variable Message Signs and integration with public transport data from 2105 Nexus. The Department of Transport paid £2.8 million ($3.6million) of the fund and the rest came from local authority contributions.


The technology allows the camera to be monitored from the regional Urban Traffic Management Centre (1682 UTMC), allowing officers to adjust signal timings where necessary to improve traffic flow and provide better and reliable journey times to the travelling public.

Newcastle City Council submitted the funding bid on behalf of the North East Combined Authority for the expansion of the UTMC. It was one of 76 successful projects across the country to win a share of £244m ($186 million).

NECA is the seven councils which serve County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council and transport lead for the North East Combined Authority, said: “This funding is great news for commuters and business and will help cut journey times across the area. “We have a great facility here in the North East where we work together across the area to monitor the traffic network across local authority boundaries. This new investment means we can connect up traffic signals across key routes so we can smooth our traffic flows where we see congestion building up and adjust traffic signals right across the network to keep traffic moving at peak periods. “Providing reliable journey times and improving connectivity across the region is also a real benefit for our local economy as it helps people to access jobs and training and supports the efficient transport of goods.”

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Camera lowering poles aid maintenance, cut costs
    January 20, 2012
    It was while on vacation in Providence, Rhode Island that Jim Larsen had a Eureka! moment
    Read More
  • Mayor unveils expanded traffic-busting plans to keep London moving
    September 30, 2015
    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has unveiled the new measures Transport for London (TfL) is introducing to ease traffic in the capital and minimise disruption on the roads as major work to improve the network continues as part of the Mayor’s US$6 billion Road Modernisation Plan. The innovations include: Trials of new technology - for the first time on the TfL road network a new generation of digital road signs will provide people with real-time information on journeys using major routes into London.
    Read More
  • Active traffic management - challenges and benefits
    April 12, 2013
    Minnesota DoT has built one of the most intensive Active Traffic Management (ATM) systems on the road today. Like many ITS deployments, the state has gained benefits but also faces many challenges, as Pete Goldin reports. Smart Lanes is the brand name of Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDoT) ATM system on I-35W in the Twin Cities Metro Area. The original system covered 16 miles of I-35W south of Minneapolis starting in 2009, and was extended by two miles in 2011. Additional ATM equipment was inst
    Read More
  • ITS Australia supports funding proposal for industry research
    October 27, 2016
    ITS Australia has welcomed the transport industry’s final application to the Federal Government’s US$498 million (AU$653 million) Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, which has been established to solve industry identified challenges through outcome-focused collaborative research partnerships. ITS Australia, the national body for the intelligent transport systems (ITS) industry, is a consortium member of iMOVE CRC, one of seven shortlisted applicants. With a focus on developing substantial imp
    Read More

Highlighted Content