Highways Agency plans to increase capacity of M4
The UK Highways Agency is holding a series of public exhibitions to inform road users, local residents and businesses about proposals to transform the M4 into one of the longest stretches of ‘smart motorway’ in England by 2021.
The improvement, on a 32-mile stretch between junction 3 at Hayes in London, and junction 12 at Theale in Berkshire, would increase capacity, improve journey reliability and maintain safety.
The proposals are part of the Government’s investment into England’s motorways and majo
Montreal trials smart parking
Stationnement de Montreal, which manages parking for the City of Montreal, Canada, has announced a project with smart parking solutions provider Streetline, with the aim of reducing congestion and increasing parking availability ion the city.
Already deployed in more than 40 locations in both the US and Europe, Streetline's patented smart parking platform detects the presence of a car through a network of ultra-low power wireless sensors located in the pavement of individual parking spaces. Data from th
Latest pedestrian safety technology from McCain
Designed to boost driver awareness of pedestrians, McCain says its latest technology for pedestrian safety, the rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB), is widely recognised as a means to reduce accidents between vehicles and pedestrians at intersections and mid-block crosswalks without traffic signals.
An ideal solution for a range of applications, the RRFB has highly visible high-intensity LEDs which remain dark until activated by a pedestrian, when the lights flash in a wig-wag pattern, alerting appr
Russia to get real-time traffic services
Inrix and Audi are collaborating in a project to launch Russia’s first comprehensive traffic information and driver services platform.
Developed through an exclusive partnership with Russia’s leading navigation services provider cdcom, Inrix XD Traffic provides drivers in Russia with real-time traffic and incident information covering more than 236,000 kilometers of roadways across 55 cities – the most comprehensive traffic information service available and the first traffic incident service of its kind
Japanese companies win ITS order for Vietnam's Expressway
Three Japanese companies, Toshiba Corporation, Hitachi and Itochu Corporation are to supply the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) with an intelligent transportation systems (ITS) package to be installed on the 55-kilometre Ho Chi Minh and Dau Giay section of Vietnam’s North-South Expressway.
The order, worth around US$39 million, includes electronic toll collection (ETC), traffic control and equipment monitoring systems, and is the first for an integrated ITS package that Japanese companies have recei
New opportunities in a data-rich future
Jason Barnes looks at where the detection and monitoring sector is heading.
In the future, there will be no such thing as an un-instrumented road. Just a short time ago, that could have been a quote from a high-level policy document but with the first arrivals of vehicles with 802.11p connectivity – the door-opener to Vehicle-to-X (V2X) applications – it’s a statement which has increasing validity. The technology which uses our roads will also provide information on road conditions but V2X isn’t the only
Flir helps Indonesia start tackling congestion
Indonesia has started tackling acute traffic congestion in Jakarta and Surabaya.
When talking about Jakarta, Indonesia’s economic, cultural and political centre, it is very easy to lapse into superlatives. With a population of over 10 million people it is the thirteenth most populated city in the world and the biggest in South East Asia. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is also the second largest in the world. Almost 98% of journeys in Jabodetabek are made by road and the tremendous
Weigh in motion helps Caltrans minimise road damage
Colin Sowman finds out why California is still expanding its already comprehensive weigh-in-motion (WIM) system.
California has the most complete weigh-in-motion (WIM) system in the United States and recently announced a US$1.6 million contract for another Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility (usually called a weigh station) near Mountain Pass. According to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the aim is not to persecute offenders but to track vehicle weights in order to prevent or
Kenya WIM system cuts four days off journey times
Shem Oirere looks at how weigh-in-motion is helping to streamline the trucking industry in Kenya.
Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, is streamlining trucking operations on its section of the 8,800km Northern Corridor. It is both reducing the number of weighbridges and automating the remaining ones in an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate corruption.The Northern Corridor is a major gateway through Kenya to the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sou
Wider uses for weigh in motion data
Colin Sowman talks to Terry Bergan of International Road Dynamics about the latest uses of weigh-in-motion systems. Raising allowable truck weight limits improve transport efficiency but leaves an ever-increasing number of bridges vulnerable to being overloaded and damaged by vehicles heavier, and in some cases far heavier, than they were designed to carry. The simplistic solution is to impose weight restrictions and erect appropriate signs - but this could have severe knock-on effect on trucking operations
Flir’s Flux sorts video streams
Flir’s open architecture video detection management software, Flux, enables users to scale the system to their own requirements, says the company. Flux, an intelligent software platform for use with a Flir video detection system, collects traffic data, events, alarms and video images generated by the video detectors, to manage and control all traffic information generated by multiple detectors and provide the user with meaningful and relevant data. The web-based graphical user interface provides event alert
Videotec’s latest cameras for demanding applications
Videotec’s remote controlled pan tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras from are suitable for marine applications, industrial atmospheres or road tunnels.
The range includes day/night cameras and dual vision solutions with thermal imaging.
Images can be transmitted over a local area network or the internet using H.264/AVC compression, compatible with ONVIF protocol Profile S.
Network availability with full redundancy from Moxa
Moxa’s latest AWK-5232 industrial a/b/g/n wireless AP/bridge/client provides wireless connectivity with data rates up to 300Mbps along with enhanced reliability, seamless deployment and plug-and-play scalability that reduce networking costs of by eliminating the need for multiple items of equipment. Designed for industrial environments, it provides a solution for hard-to-wire deployments and for virtually any type of mobile device connected over a TCP/IP network, by supporting not only 802.11n wireless conn
TRL upgrades Transyt 15 software
TRL has upgraded its Transyt software used in designing, modelling and optimising road layouts from individual isolated junctions to large and complex networks.
Version 15.0.1 can now lock a stage on one controller to a stage on another, which is useful for modelling linked controller streams. To cater for circulating traffic streams, the upgraded software now also has roundabout priority object.
This new version can link to both Aimsun 7 and Aimsun 8 in both both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This enab
CCTV system offers 3D traffic monitoring
The latest real-time interactive 3D VR simulation system from Forum8 is designed to improve the way CCTV images are used, and, said the company, is suitable for monitoring traffic/pedestrian flow in real time.
VR-StreetView embeds links to the individual camera positions in an interactive 3D model of the target area. Operators can click on any one of the camera icons embedded in the model and a window will open showing live feed from the relevant camera, enabling operators to see precisely where the inci
Telogis next generation of fleet management
Fleet 11, the latest upgrade to Telogis’ cloud-based software platform, enables connectivity between what is happening in the field and the back office. The system features mobile application enhancements and new maps optimised for mobile devices, allowing supervisors and operators to easily visualise vehicles, assets and workers. It also supports the Telogis Live 2.0 location and data sharing tool to share information among multiple users.
Integrated into Telogis Fleet 11 is Telogis Coach which gives bo
Nexcom rugged tablet ideal for industrial use
Nexcom’s seven-inch MRC 1000/1100 rugged tablets are designed to withstand the daily rigours of industrial use and can accommodate the unpredictable information needs of mobile professionals in construction, agriculture, logistics and warehousing industries.
Designed for use in challenging environments, the tablets meet 810F military and IP65 standards, provides a four-foot drop protection and has bumpers on four corners to limit damage due to knocks and falls. The MRC 1000/1100 can function effectively
Toll road tender announced
Moscow has announced a tender to build а toll road parallel to Kutuvkosky Prospekt, stretching from Moscow City’s business centre to the Moscow ring road and meet the M1 toll road.
Expected to include four lanes of traffic, the US$1.1 billion project will take five to seven years to build, with the contract between the city and the winning tenderer lasting 40 years. The investor will be able to set the road's fare, though within limits prescribed by Moscow authorities.
The city's head of construction,
Ireland to deploy ITS technology to save lives
In the wake of the European Parliament’s approval of the mandatory installation of automatic emergency phones in all cars and vans by 2015, the Irish Times says Ireland’s National Roads Authority (NRA) is to deploy a range of intelligent transport systems to improve travel times, warn drivers of weather, dangers and delays ahead and automatically notify emergency services in the event of crashes or even the potential for crashes.
The NRA has developed a motorway traffic control centre, based at the Dubli
eyevis video wall increases Paris car park security
German video wall supplier eyevis has installed a 7 sq m video wall in the central control room of Société Anonyme d’Economie Mixte d’Exploitation du Stationnement (SAEMES), a parking system operator in the city of Paris, which manages more than 90 car parks in the city.
Images from CCTV surveillance cameras installed in each car park are displayed in the central control room on the eyevis video wall, which consists of twelve 46-inch displays.
With full HD resolution, direct LED backlight technology