Skip to main content

Greater Manchester gets enhanced signage

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Swarco Traffic are working together on a scheme funded by the Department for Transport under the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) to provide enhanced driver information on roads around Greater Manchester. The scheme is part of the wider LSTF initiative being undertaken by TfGM to enhance network management and provide accurate real time traveller information to the public through a wide variety of media. Full colour matrix variable message signs (VM
April 15, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
817 Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and 129 Swarco Traffic are working together on a scheme funded by the 1837 Department for Transport under the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) to provide enhanced driver information on roads around Greater Manchester.

The scheme is part of the wider LSTF initiative being undertaken by TfGM to enhance network management and provide accurate real time traveller information to the public through a wide variety of media.

Full colour matrix variable message signs (VMS) are to be installed at around 40 key sites. The signs will primarily be used to display journey time, traffic incident information, alternative routing, and network congestion information using either text or graphics (or a mixture of both) to maximise the impact of the message. The signs will be networked back to TfGM’s UTMC system, enabling messages to be set either automatically by timetable and strategy plan, or manually by the traffic centre operators.

Swarco will deploy their latest generation full colour sign which uses a patented lens system to maximise colour contrast, legibility, and uniformity, whilst minimising power consumption, and providing optimal performance in all operating conditions.

According to Swarco, the flexibility of this technology can accommodate a variety of other applications in the future, such as providing parking guidance and displaying full colour images to promote events and provide tourist information.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Introducing Hitachi’s HD optical zoom camera
    January 15, 2013
    Hitachi’s DI-SC120R camera includes a new feature, defog, that the camera processes in real time. Images are resolved for highly magnified stable images in foggy conditions such as urban surveillance, traffic monitoring and pole mounted applications. The camera measures each pixel for fog thickness and applies contrast to the image to offer a uniform image. The camera’s one-third inch CCD sensor provides a full resolution of 1280x720. Hitachi has combined its proprietary Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to a
  • Tunnel network to relieve Istanbul's traffic congestion
    August 14, 2012
    A series of road tunnels is taking shape to help relieve Istanbul from crippling road congestion, with an extensive array of safety and management systems operating from a single ITS platform. Nino Sehagic reports. Traffic in Istanbul has historically been described simply as jammed. Severe congestion and chaotic use of available road space are characteristics of a city of more than one and a half million cars. Istanbul’s existing road network could not cope and was in urgent need of expansion, leading the
  • Radar effective as detection tool for hard shoulder running
    July 23, 2012
    Navtech Radar's millimetric-wave systems are being researched on the M42 in England to look into how this type of detector can assist in the opening of the hard shoulder as an additional running lane. Here, the company's Stephen Clark talks about the technology being used. In England, the Highways Agency's (the HA, an executive agency of the Department for Transport) Managed Motorways system - formerly called Active Traffic Management - uses electronic signs and signals mounted on gantries to direct drivers
  • Embedded connectivity delivers real time travel information
    February 3, 2012
    Ton Brand describes the GSM Association's Embedded mTelematics programme. As the world's roads become increasingly crowded, consumers and businesses are demanding better real-time information to help them both avoid traffic congestion and make smarter use of public transport. Embedding mobile connectivity directly into vehicles can enable drivers and passengers to see live traffic flows in their localities, as well as the expected arrival time of the next bus, ferry or tram