Essex and Hertfordshire councils trial smart city services

Telensa will assess the potential quality-of-life and economic benefits of a range of smart city technologies in partnership with Essex County Council (ECC) and Hertfordshire County Council. The potential to monitor issues remotely, according to Ian Grundy, ECC cabinet member for highways, will save taxpayers money and help fix issues before they become a problem. Both councils are now assessing the suitability of three sites in Hertfordshire and Essex towns for a two-month pilot in March. The smart
March 8, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
7574 Telensa will assess the potential quality-of-life and economic benefits of a range of smart city technologies in partnership with Essex County Council (ECC) and Hertfordshire County Council. The potential to monitor issues remotely, according to Ian Grundy, ECC cabinet member for highways, will save taxpayers money and help fix issues before they become a problem.


Both councils are now assessing the suitability of three sites in Hertfordshire and Essex towns for a two-month pilot in March.

The smart city solutions will send alerts that predict issues for blocked street drains that cause flooding. They will also be used to notify the highways team of high winds or gusts and help them build a data set that predicts dangerous driving conditions. In addition, traffic monitoring and analytics will dim unnecessary streetlighting on empty roads to understand local traffic patterns while air quality monitoring is intended to deliver street-by-street measurements.

Ralph Sangster, executive member for Highways at HCC, said: “Smart technology is becoming an essential tool in delivering a high quality highways services and ‘Safe Smart’ is an exciting opportunity to trial a modern technology which reinforces Hertfordshire County Council's ongoing commitment to maintain and improve roads for the benefit of all Hertfordshire residents.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • May 8, 2015
    Joined-up thinking for future ITS
    David Crawford looks at a US model which, for modest federal funding, is producing substantive results. Outward and upward is the clear message emerging from the US$458,000, 2015 workplan of the US government’s ENTERPRISE (Evaluating New TEchnologies for Roads PRogram Initiatives in Safety and Efficiency) joint funding scheme for ITS research.
    Read More
  • November 6, 2018
    We don’t understand ITS, say transport companies: new IRU report
    Half of transport companies say that ITS adoption is being held back by a “limited understanding of the range of emerging technologies available”, according to a new global survey. The sobering finding – which indicates that ITS providers and policy makers have more to do to explain some of the benefits – comes from the IRU’s ‘The future of road transport’ report. The other major barrier to adopting technology is cost, say 71% of respondents. The IRU says: “This suggests that pockets of the industry have
    Read More
  • May 18, 2018
    New ANPR solutions overcome variables
    The sheer range of variables makes it difficult to find a single algorithm to ensure a 100% standard of ANPR. David Crawford investigates new processing technology. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), using optical character recognition and image-processing to identify vehicles, plays key roles in traffic monitoring and law enforcement, access and parking control, electronic toll collection, vehicle security and crime deterrence. Overall, system performance is well rated, with high levels of
    Read More
  • October 8, 2018
    Blockchain: the next big thing for ITS? Really?
    Everyone’s heard of blockchain – but most people are less sure about what it really is, and how it might be used in transportation. Andrew Williams peers into cyberspace to find some answers. A growing number of organisations in the ITS industry are exploring how blockchain technology could be used for ITS and mobility applications. So, what exactly is blockchain technology? What are the key current and potential applications in the mobility and ITS sector? And what practical benefits might it bring?
    Read More

Highlighted Content