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

Related Content

  • London boroughs to get funding to help improve transport, cycling
    January 4, 2016
    Transport services and town centres across London have been given a New Year boost, as the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) confirm US$218 million in funding for the London boroughs in 2016/17. The annual borough funding is provided by TfL to help the boroughs pay for local transport projects set out in their Local Implementation Plans (LIPs). LIPs are plans that show how the boroughs will support the Mayor’s Transport Strategy in their area. For 2016/17, TfL's financial support for the boroughs’ LI
    Read More
  • Bristol trials new cycle safety technology
    June 9, 2014
    As part of an ongoing trial funded by five West of England local authorities, UK bus operator First West of England will for the first time be test driving state-of-the-art cycle safety technology on two of its buses on the busy Gloucester Road route in the city of Bristol. Developed by Fusion Processing, CycleEye technology aims to reduce the growing number of cyclist collisions and casualties across the country involving large commercial vehicles. CycleEye is fitted to the side of the vehicle and
    Read More
  • Improving traffic flow with automated urban traffic control
    April 25, 2012
    Alterations to traffic signals and variable message signs are being activated to reduce congestion as soon as it occurs, through a pioneering fully automatic UTC system. Jon Masters reports In the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley in England, strategies for dealing with traffic congestion have been devised from analysis of queue data, then made to work automatically: “This represents the future of ITS for urban traffic control,” says Siemens Consultancy Services senior engineer David Carr. Over a career span
    Read More
  • Migrating to advanced traffic management systems
    March 14, 2012
    Rich pickings of reduced cost and greater value are up for grabs as highway authorities migrate to new traffic management systems – if they choose their paths wisely. Jon Masters reports. Experience gained and expertise developed over the past decade are informing good advice for transport agencies contemplating new or expanded traffic management systems. Technological projects aimed at reducing road congestion may be frequently unique and invariably complex, but a picture is emerging of sensible, prudent a
    Read More

Highlighted Content