Skip to main content

UK city to introduce thermal imaging traffic management

City of York Council is to introduce thermal imaging technology on key cycle routes in York to help reduce the time spent at traffic signals, improve journey reliability and cycle safety. The city is set to become one of the first councils in the country to start using the technology which will accurately detect cyclists at signals by their ‘heat signature’, allowing the signals to react accordingly and be adjusted to give more ‘green time’ for cyclists. The thermal technology was first introduced by
March 24, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
City of York Council is to introduce thermal imaging technology on key cycle routes in York to help reduce the time spent at traffic signals, improve journey reliability and cycle safety.

The city is set to become one of the first councils in the country to start using the technology which will accurately detect cyclists at signals by their ‘heat signature’, allowing the signals to react accordingly and be adjusted to give more ‘green time’ for cyclists.

The thermal technology was first introduced by 1466 Transport for London last year as part of the cycle superhighway network.

The scheme is all part of a multi million pound overhaul of York’s ageing traffic signals – the largest scheme the city has seen since the last major overhaul of York’s traffic signals in the mid 1990s which introduced the city’s new urban traffic control system to control the city’s transport network.

The five year scheme also includes replacement of worn out and unreliable in-road road loops with camera systems for traffic detection.

The authority is also proposing to replace approximately half of the 122 traffic signals and 54 pedestrian crossings in the city over a five-year rolling programme with modern equipment.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • First ever pedestrian safety action plan for London
    July 11, 2014
    Transport for London (TfL) has published London’s first Pedestrian Safety Action Plan following consultation in the spring. One of the Mayor and TfL's top priorities is to reduce by 40 per cent the number of people killed or seriously injured on London's roads by 2020 and action is being taken to prioritise the safety of the most vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The plan has been compiled by TfL working alongside key stakeholders, and looks to address the concerns and chall
  • Highways Agency extends IT support contract with IPL
    March 21, 2014
    IPL has announced a two year services extension worth half a million pounds from the Highways Agency (HA) which will enable the HA to manage the display information on roadside signalling devices in order to help increase road capacity, improve safety and reduce congestion. IPL has been working with the HA for over two decades, developing and delivering a set of tools to support the setup of the information on gantry signals and message signs required for schemes such as smart motorways. The tools pla
  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
  • Traffic to flow freely over world’s widest bridge
    November 13, 2012
    Pete Goldin reports on a new Egis project in Canada, providing open road tolling operations for the widest bridge in the world. A bridge can present a bottleneck in a system of roads or it can support the smooth and unobstructed flow of traffic. Much depends on the bridge design, surrounding infrastructure and tolling system. By adding lanes and deploying open road tolling (ORT), the new Port Mann Bridge located in the metropolitan Vancouver area in British Columbia, will alleviate congestion at one of the