UTC

PTV Transport Consult has named Dr-Ing. Hagen Schüller as the replacement for Werner Balz, division manager for Traffic Control & Management in the Stuttgart office of PTV Transport Consult, who retires at the beginning of March after 25 years with the company. Balz played an important role in the establishment of the PTV office in Stuttgart 25 years ago, which was also the beginning of PTV’s entry into the planning of traffic control and guidance systems on motorways. Schuller, who is currently a pro

The Dutch town of Bodegraven is piloting a new pedestrian traffic signal which it hopes will warn pedestrians staring at their mobile phones that they are about to cross the road. Developed by local firm HIG Traffic Systems, the +Lichtlijn or +Lightline, consists of an LED lighting strip in the pavement near intersections linked directly to traffic signals and changes from red to green to alert distracted pedestrians that they may safely cross. According to DutchNews, the Dutch road safety organisatio

Poland's General Directorate for National Roads and Highways awarded CH2M a contract for the feasibility study for the expansion of the country’s 70 km long National Road No.8, which is intended to improve travel times for the 30,000 daily vehicles using the heavily-trafficked portions of the road. As part of the contract, CH2M will develop a corridor study, feasibility study (STEŚ), conceptual design for the selected best option and adjust the model functional and utility program. The feasibility study

Smart motorways expert Mouchel has been appointed by AECOM to jointly deliver two of the latest schemes awarded by Highways England on their smart motorway programme, which includes the M62 Junction 10 to 12 and the M6 Junction 21a to 26, in a contract worth around US$3.5 million (£2.8 million). Both schemes are intended congestion by improving transport links between Warrington and Wigan for the M6 and between Liverpool and Warrington New Town, and Manchester for the M62, while supporting economic growt

During the 2017 Transit Bus Summit in Dallas, Texas Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) will discuss its connected vehicle platform and transit performance analytics, which it says can ensure transit vehicles adhere to published timetables and improve operational efficiencies through detailed performance insights. GTT’s industry-leading Opticom traffic signal priority system with built-in active schedule and headway management capabilities helps to keep transit services on time and performing optimally in

In a drive to prevent a recurrence of the VW emissions scandal, the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee has amended EU car type approval to make environmental and safety testing more independent and strengthen national and EU oversight of cars already on the road. Type approval is the process whereby national authorities certify that a vehicle model meets all EU safety, environmental and production requirements before it can be placed on the market. The proposals would require national m

Engineering services firm Parsons has completed the implementation of its NETworks advanced transportation management system (ATMS) software in Mississauga, Canada and the system is now operational, allowing the city to actively monitor travel conditions, control traffic signals and share information with other regional transportation agencies. Operating in Mississauga’s traffic management centre, Parsons’ ATMS software provides an intelligent signal control system for real-time management of the 769+ tr

Canadian company Current powered by GE, has launched a smart LED traffic signal that can help prevent the build-up of snow and ice on the lamps. The new heated shell GTx low profile lamp is equipped with sensors that measure ambient conditions and automatically activate the heating elements on the front shell to help prevent ice and snow formation on the lamp. This feature also allows for reduced energy consumption as the element is not required to be on at all times.

Making a city smarter not only relies on understand technological opportunities but also human decision-making, as Miller Crockart explains. Cities are about people – a fact that can easily be forgotten when experts talk about roads, healthcare and education as though they are abstract and unconnected monoliths rather than things people use. Understanding how and why people use services is vital for making decisions on how they can be optimised for maximum efficiency across inter-connected networks that for