The Department for Transport is working to release the list of local authorities who have been successful in winning a share of £40 million of new money to make traffic signals more efficient during the week beginning 11 March.

It was hoped the awards notices would be released by end of February, but because of an unprecedented response from local councils, where nearly all those eligible applied either directly or through a Combined Authority, assessing the bids has taken longer than expected.

The grants are part of the Department for Transport’s Plan for Drivers, announced by Secretary of State Mark Harper last October, and will see the money spent on a range of solutions including upgrading traffic signal systems, replacing unreliable and obsolete equipment to improve reliability, and tuning up signals to better reflect current traffic conditions and get traffic flowing.

Applications for a share of a further £20 million of funding earmarked for the Intelligent Traffic Management Fund (ITMF) will open next month (April). This money, expected to be delivered in packages worth around £2 million each, gives authorities the chance to deploy advanced technology for traffic signals, using emerging technologies to optimise traffic flow and balance traffic across city centres.  The application process closes at the end of July 2024 and detailed guidance has been published to help with bids.

The TTF Conference from 23-25 of April in Leicestershire will feature more details about TSOG, GLF and ITMF grants.  The Transport Technology Forum is working with by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) to manage the challenge process on behalf of the DfT.

(Picture – TTF)