The manager of the Transport Technology Forum, Darren Capes has given more details about the process of allocating £70 million of extra funding to make traffic signals more efficient.
Speaking in a session in the Smart Traffic and Parking Theatre at Highways UK, Mr Capes, who is also ITS Policy Lead at the Department for Transport, explained that the Department will contact Local Authorities’ Chief Executives shortly with details of the funding, ahead of the challenge process formally opening during Autumn.
The £30m Traffic Signals Obsolescence Grant (TSOG) is funded from the DfT’s wider Highways Maintenance Block and includes £10 million to be shared between all English local highway and transport authorities outside of London, and £20 million of targeted funding which will be awarded to areas with particular obsolescence issues through challenge processes opening this autumn.
The remaining two grants are the £20 million Green Light Fund (GLF) to tune up traffic signals to better reflect current traffic conditions and get traffic flowing and the£20 million Intelligent Traffic Management Fund (ITMF) to deploy advanced technology for traffic signals, making use of emerging technologies to optimise traffic flow and balance traffic across city centres. These will also be awarded following challenge competitions open to English local highway and transport authorities outside of London.
Mr Capes explained that the challenge element of TSOG, and the challenges for GLF and ITMF will be open concurrently during November and December 2023. Once bids have been submitted, they will be assessed during January with award letters sent out at the end of February, with money available to authorities in March 2024. Successful bidders will have two years to deliver schemes and will be required to report on progress regularly during the delivery period.
As with the 2021 Traffic Signals Maintenance allocation, where 39 authorities were awarded either £250,000 or £500,000 to upgrade or fix traffic signals, this application process is being overseen by the Transport Technology Forum and managed by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG).
(Picture – LCRIG)
