Into The Gap

What do we mean when we talk about ‘the gap’? In this case it could relate literally to space; we have limited land on which to build if we wish to keep our country green… building and/or expanding roads is not conducive to this.

Then we have the funding gap; the difference between what we know is needed to support economic recovery and what we physically have available to spend (as a country). It can also be used to refer to the time (gap) between the urgent need and the actual ability to deliver; planning the time to secure funds the bidding process physical construction time etc.

For Imtech Traffic & Infra (Imtech) ‘the gap’ is all of these things and more and if there is a technological solution to a challenge we face as an industry then we need to work together to find it (if it does not exist in some form already) and fill that technology gap.

The current situation means we have road networks working beyond their planned capacity and limited road space; creating bottle necks and pinch points. This is further exacerbated by the steady increase in road users and the drive towards the need for Smart(er) Cities. Whilst we recognise the importance of supporting economic recovery and society’s fundamental need to connect we also need to appreciate that there are always constraints and difficult choices that have to be made.

Working more innovatively (another gap to fill) means working smarter using the same tools differently and/or using different techniques tools and processes. In the world of ITS the use of adaptive traffic control systems has supported the management and reduction of congestion for many years. However the smarter use of these systems can fill some of the aforementioned ‘gaps’; r reducing the need for physical construction delivering a solution for minimal cost and limiting the impact on the travelling public.

MONEY-SAVING EXPERTS

One good example of this is a recent project Imtech worked on with Kirklees Council; having been identified as the 14th most congested traffic signal junction in West Yorkshire the site in question as proposed as a “pinch point scheme” and allocated £1.5 million of government funding to carry Maxed out networks limited road space increased users and Smart(er) Cities – how technology can fill the gap

“Working more innovatively means working smarter using the same tools differently and/or using different techniques tools and processes” out works to alleviate the congestion at this location. The planned scheme would have meant long term works to widen carriageways bringing confusion and delay to pedestrians cyclists and motorists alike. Tasked at looking at the problem from a different angle Imtech’s ‘Infra Solutions’ team and Kirklees Council found another way to ‘get the most out of the current infrastructure’ and save over £1m of government funding. Together we have successfully reduced congestion at a previous ‘pinch point’ by providing site assessment supervision and subsequently commissioning SCOOT multi-node software.

Adaptive traffic control such as SCOOT is not the only answer; Imtech has a secondary solution largely geared towards the non-UK market – ImFlow. ImFlow is described as bridging the gap between policy and technology (another gap). This distributed system enables adaptive control for both networks and for isolated intersections. ImFlow also has strong capabilities with respect to public transport (PT) priority an area of continuing growth as we continue to strive for modal shift to aid congestion across our networks.

On street ITS technology is not the only way to bridge ‘the gap’ more innovative and measured forms of contract management are also helping the industry to deliver more. Getting best value out of contracts is imperative and we are seeing more and more output based contracts and partnership (shared pain/gain) approaches as we all try to use scarce funding to best effect; define what’s important and only pay for the desired outcomes. Technology plays a key part here as it can provide the key measurement tools – if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it!

JOINED-UP THINKING

The term ‘Smart Cities’ appears regularly across our industry (we would tweak that to say ‘smarter cities’) from an ITS and mobility perspective we would suggest that the need to bridge the gap between the disparate management tools is critical to managing the network; to provide the best solution for drivers and public transport to enable multi-modal journey planning and to provide a safe environment for more vulnerable road users (pedestrians / cyclists).

Having the capacity to concentrate on what is important leads us to the development of ‘the cloud’ and how the provision of hosted services allows transport planners UTC mangers and the like to focus on what they are good at and leave us to worry about the cogs and flywheels giving increased system availability flexibility scalability and reducing costs.

DIGITAL SOLUTION

Of course one of the technology gaps is the need for communications versus the cost of [traditional i.e. leased line] communications. We could define communications as a ‘necessary evil’ although the reality is that it makes everything work together and thus is the glue that creates a true ‘system’.

Imtech commenced a project with a local authority client earlier this year where the introduction of a digital communications network for traffic signals will save £1m over the term of the contract approx. £140k per annum). That has to be the total opposite of ‘evil’ right? We previously referred to a time ‘gap’ between a need and the ability to deliver but looking at traditional technology and applying new approaches to this can also reap benefits. A new approach to traffic signals technology where reviewing the actual cost of an overall installation lead to a redesign of the cable infrastructure which in turn removed the need for extensive ducting networks and the associated traffic management has created a system that can help clients save an average of 30 per cent on the overall site works (PTC-1® RLCS).

Technology can often be the answer to filling ‘the gap’ however we can only do this when we fully understand what that ‘gap’ looks like and have the investment in research and design to create innovative new solutions. At a time when budgets are under constant strain you have to wonder where that funding will come from. Tapping into the many streams of funding for innovation is critical to our industry; we (Imtech) invest heavily and have been successful in securing outside funding. Our Dutch colleagues are involved in many European research projects including cooperative systems and green technology solutions for the future. It would seem therefore that despite the odds progress will be made and one day the purist vision of a Smart City may well be realised.