Some 39 local councils in England have been awarded a share of £15m in additional UK government funding for the upgrade and repair of traffic signals to improve traffic flow and reduce air pollution and congestion in their areas.
The extra money from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) is part of this year’s highway maintenance settlement for English local authorities outside of London, and will be spent on supplementing existing local authority spending on the upgrade and maintenance of traffic signals and associated equipment.
Some 21 authorities received £500,000 each with 18 councils getting £250,000 each. The funding will be used to support programmes of work to March 2022.
All 121 English local authorities outside London were invited to register interest in the additional money, and more than 100 of them did so.
In order to qualify, councils were asked to provide evidence of their current traffic signal maintenance policies and practices and required to detail their strategies and preparedness for future technology opportunities, along with any specific issues around maintenance needs and priorities.
The application process was overseen for the DfT by the Transport Technology Forum (TTF) and managed by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG).
According to TTF research, there are traffic signals with faulty detectors, configuration and equipment, which means systems are not working optimally and therefore full benefits are not being exploited.
TTF has estimated that delay savings of between 10-20% are delivered by efficient use of technologies that monitor traffic levels and alter signal timings accordingly.
Will Britain, president of LCRIG, said: “It will be fantastic to see the results of this important initiative brought to life now that the funding has been awarded.
“Ongoing maintenance of traffic signals is vital as councils strive to improve road safety, decarbonise and reduce collisions and hazards. This funding will go a long way to helping them make progress in these areas.”
