North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the news that road-users and companies in Swindon are set to benefit from state-of-the-art technology designed to keep the town's roads running as smoothly as possible.
Swindon Borough Council has been awarded £237,500 by the Department for Transport through the Smart Infrastructure Competition to roll out technology in partnership with Cisco and CartoConsult.
The scheme will use the latest technology to transmit real-time traffic information to delivery drivers and workers, including those making just-in-time deliveries to companies such as BMW and Honda. The scheme will centre on businesses and road users that use the A4312/A420 and A361 arterial routes into Swindon in order to ensure these carriageways are operating as efficiently as possible when significant roadworks take place around the New Eastern Villages development, east of the A419.
Roadside monitoring equipment on these routes will send real-time information out to businesses, bus companies and road users so they can travel on the roads with confidence. The pilot will include trials of methods to get information to drivers in their vehicles, using their sat-navs and other in-vehicle equipment, so they can plan and adjust their journeys to suit the traffic conditions.
Additionally, as the Council will receive the data direct from the monitoring equipment it will be used to inform future road schemes and enable the highways team to respond more quickly to incidents as they occur.
The project will also give the Council access to a much larger sample of traffic on the network compared to other traffic update systems and allow the latest technology to be tested to identify if it would be of benefit across the town’s entire highway network.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: "I am delighted that Swindon will benefit from this new technology. The £237,500 investment will deliver state-of-the-art technology which will ease congestion on our roads, give road users up-to-date information about traffic and ensure that allow large local manufacturers like Honda & BMW can receive their vital deliveries on time. Hopefully local residents and businesses alike should see the benefit of this exciting pilot."
Cllr Keith Williams, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “Swindon is expanding at a rapid rate so we are investing heavily in new roads and increasing capacity at existing junctions to cope with future traffic levels. The use of this smart technology, in conjunction with Cisco, will go a step further and help businesses and road users to see in real time which routes are busy, allowing them to plan their journeys and ensure they do not get caught up in congestion. This is an exciting project to be involved in and I look forward to seeing the benefits it will bring to local firms and residents alike.”
Scot Gardner, Chief Executive, Cisco UK & Ireland, said: “Unlocking congestion on our roads has tremendous opportunity to improve productivity in the UK and technology, specifically digitisation, has a key role to play in helping solve this age-old challenge. As a company, we are committed to the development of Smart City projects and as such, we are delighted to have been invited by Swindon Borough Council to help them provide a better experience for road users. We look forward to seeing the project evolve, highlighting the impact smart technology can have on people in Swindon and hope to see similar programmes rolled out in every town and city within the UK and beyond.”
