Effective road and traffic management

Written evidence from Capita Symonds (ETM 32)

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  

1.1 Capita Symonds

Capita Symonds is a wholly-owned division of The Capita Group Plc, a FTSE 100 member and a leading provider of integrated professional support service solutions. With over 4000 UK employees Capita Symonds is a multi-disciplinary consultant delivering property and infrastructure projects and specialising in the Transport Sector.

The Company has over 40 years experience in designing, building, operating and maintaining roads on a local, national and international scale and has many staff who have worked for the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency or Local Authorities during their careers.

1.2 Basis of Submission

In preparing this submission we appreciate that in some cases our view may conflict with current policy. However, we believe effective road and traffic management can only be achieved on a national scale by a step change to the way roads are currently managed and operated.

We have deliberately not used technical statistics as we believe these can often be misrepresented and / or misinterpreted to support a particular point of view. Instead our evidence is presented from a "Road User’s perspective, and from that of an objective practitioner with long term experience of planning and designing roads, and applying technology to solve traffic problems. Added to our experience and the lessons learnt from it as "technologists", our instinct is to find new ways of doing things better and our evidence is based on a combination of "fresh eyes" along with an informed view.

We have outlined a new approach to managing roads and traffic. There are a plethora of issues which must be faced to achieve this and it is not possible in this submission to cover them all but we have attempted to identify some which we believe are key.

1.3 Institutional Arrangements

UK roads are a complex network of carriageways, each with their own characteristics which demand different operational objectives and priorities. Added to this complexity is the fact that different roads are operated by different authorities, each with their own policies and objectives.

The Department for Transport has devolved its operational obligations for the "Strategic Roads Network" to the Highways Agency (HA), but virtually all other operational issues are managed by the Local Authority (LAs).

Whilst strategic and local objectives and priorities are bound to be different, they are currently delivered under institutional and financial arrangements which have evolved over the years and which no longer serve to make the best use of past investments in roads, or provide a basis for how we should invest in the future.

1.4
Possible Approach

A radical approach is needed where roads are operated and managed as a single entity according to traffic routes and demand between origins and destinations, regardless of the road operator.

This means creating "Managed Route Network", formed from the strategic road network operated by the Highways Agency along with significant number of all purpose roads operated by Local Authorities. This concept would support two basic congestion relief measures:

· Route and Traffic Management: By giving priority to routes that carry the most traffic and making sure we manage alternative routes properly. This is already done to a limited extent for strategic diversions but on a Managed Route they would be invoked or encouraged dynamically on all viable routes at a local level;

· Influencing Travel Behaviour: By giving timely and accurate information as early as possible i.e before road users leave the office, town centre, car park or motorway. Congestion is compounded because road users encounter a problem too late in their journey when alternatives are no longer available i.e. they join their route only to find they could have been given information that would have given them an alternative route rather than joining the back of a queue.

To achieve a Managed Route Network dynamically requires real-time traffic data from all parts of the Managed Route, and converting this into coherent "Traffic Intelligence" enabling road operators to manage their route, and road users to select the most advantageous route for their journey.

To further support this we need to introduce new methods of dealing with our traffic signals, changing them from their current arrangement to a regime where they stop the minimum number of vehicles for the minimum amount of time. This is particularly relevant where there are large numbers of HGV’s where its introduction would offer both better air quality and better traffic flow.

1.5 Conclusions

The UK is at the forefront of road and traffic management techniques and practice but, whilst we have the intellectual and technical ability to create the optimum Managed Route Network, we do not have a policy or institutional or financial frameworks to deliver it.

A strategy should be developed which explores the concept of Managed Routes in more detail which will eventually lead to changes in policy. This will require the best people from the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency, Local Government and the Private Sector working collaboratively as an Integrated Team towards a set of common objectives.

Creating the Managed Route Network means abandoning many historically based policies and the thinking behind them but there is strong evidence to show this will save money and deliver wide ranging benefits.

2
EVIDENCE POINTS  

2.1 P revalence and impact of traffic congestion and likely future trends

Many sections of roads have bottlenecks at peak hours but these are generally predictable. Incidents and breakdowns on the network are random and represent a large proportion of the cause of congestion. When taken as a whole they have a greater impact on people and the economy since they cannot be planned into journeys.

On motorways, the consequences of incidents are more significant due to the volume of traffic affected both on and off the motorway which has a knock-on effect over a large geographical area.

Severe congestion on many major town and city ring roads and by-passes is an economically damaging feature of everyday life. There are many junctions where poor traffic priorities, sub-optimal layout or signal phasing causes extensive and unnecessary congestion.

With few much lower capacity alternative routes and no hardshoulders, even a simple breakdown can cause major problems for the non- motorway network. Statistics of breakdowns and "damage only" accidents which can have the same impact on the road network as fatal and injury accidents are not recorded, even though these represent a large proportion of the causes of delays.

It is predicted that congestion will get worse as a result of projected increase in population and the recovery of the economy, both of which will generate traffic growth. Congestion can be reduced by the following measures:

· By increasing capacity e.g. new roads and managed motorways;

· By reducing demand e.g. more use of public transport and reducing travel needs;

· By making better use of available capacity e.g. the Managed Route Concept outlined in our Executive Summary.

Future trends are open to influence by transport policy in each of the above areas but in the case of the latter the message is clear: "simple changes could have highly beneficial effects at a low cost".

2.2 E xtent to which the Government and L ocal A uthorities should intervene to alleviate congestion and the best means of doing so

In our submission we advocate the concept of Managed Routes. This would require the Highways Agency and Local Authorities having a "service contract" which requires them to work together rather than just consult.

The Managed Route concept means operating the route as a single entity, with (i) capacity maximised on all significant roads and (ii) true network management at all times, not just when there are incidents. This requires a single road network policy, funding and support which should be overseen by an impartial but knowledgeable body.

Managing the throughput of traffic on a dynamic basis and having effective data to do this will help address the issue of congestion. In simple terms, the way we currently try to deal with or disperse congestion is based on moving the most traffic on any "main" road. We do not look at the air quality issues this creates nor do we look at the traffic queuing on other lesser roads. A wider network of Managed Routes encompassing roads currently administered by both Government (via the Highways Agency) and Local Authorities would enable the impact of congestion on wider and locally important areas to be addressed.

The available capacity on the existing All Purpose Road Network could be significantly improved by carrying out an audit on each of them to determine which of the fixed features on them inhibit their ability to carry their design capacity. Obvious issues are junctions, access points, alignment, traffic signals, bus and cycle lanes etc.

2.3 The extent to which road user culture and behaviour undermines effective traffic management – issues of in-car information and reliable and useful information

Red light infringement, average speed cameras and other enforcement systems can produce beneficial modifications in driver behaviour. However, driver behaviour is notoriously hard to influence and there is inconsistency in the use and application of these systems which undermines the road user’s confidence and compliance. A single cohesive approach to these issues would bring significant benefits in many areas.

All too often information on a total closure or stationary traffic on a section of motorway is received too late or is presented in too obscure a way for many drivers to take alternative routes before they are committed.

The advantages of fixed and variable signs are that they can be seen by all road users. To achieve the same with in-car information means having every vehicle fitted with suitable equipment.

To make the safest and most constant use of such features may require consideration of some external control of vehicles rather than trying to present the driver with visual and audible displays, which can be distracting and will still have variable driver reaction. This is significant step in the way vehicles are driven and what would be required to introduce would need further study.

There is work that can be done now to obtain more accurate data and provide road users with more effective messages in the correct locations.

2.4 Intelligent traffic management systems, such as the scheme which has operated on the M42 and their impact on congestion and journey times

The M42 is claimed to have been successful in reducing the time the motorway is heavily congested. There are, however, fears of how emergency services will cope to access a major accident when the carriageways, including their hard shoulders, are completely occupied by stationary vehicles.

There are other solutions possible which can achieve most of these benefits at much lower cost, freeing funds for investment in the rest of the Network.

2.5 The effectiveness of legislative provisions for road management under the New Roads and Streets Works Act 1991 and the Traffic M anagement Act 2004

The New Roads and Street Works Act gave utilities the right to take possession of roadspace for repairs or works on their equipment but without the need for sufficient responsibility for coordination with other utilities and highway authorities. The co-ordination of roadworks, and their impact on traffic, does not appear to have been significantly improved by the NR&SWA.

We believe that a review of roadworks procedures should be undertaken where impact rather than time is the key issue to address.

2.6 The impact of bus lanes and other aspects of road layout

Bus lanes, and to a lesser degree cycle lanes, create congestion and make very poor use of lane capacity.

Traffic signal control was developed when maximising overall junction capacity was considered beneficial. This needs to change to a position where we now need to stop the minimum number of vehicles for the minimum amount of time.

The most cost effective way to maximise real time capacity would be a programme of small scale improvement schemes targeted at roundabouts, signal-controlled junctions, pinch points and any other capacity restricting features, together with using technology to provide the means to ‘balance’ the traffic.

3 R ECOMMENDATIONS  

In preparing this evidence we have touched on several areas which have the potential to improve road and traffic management and extract more benefit. For practical reasons we are not able to present all the information needed to support the points we have made but set out below a list of recommendations to be considered by the Committee:

1) Set up a Steering Committee, chaired by a Department for Transport appointed independent expert, to identify and subsequently set policy for the roads which will constitute the "Managed Route Network". Local Highway Authorities (County Councils, Metropolitan and Unitary Authorities) and the Highways Agency to be represented. The key objective would be to maximise use of the current available road network capacity in real time and to have this supported by targeted investment where capacity improvements will bring most benefit;

2) Set up group(s) under this Steering Committee to deal with the institutional, financial and technical issues needed to achieve goals set. Industry wide experts; Highway Authorities Local Highway Authorities; HA; Transport for London; Department for Transport, Emergency Services and other relevant parties to be represented;

3) Produce effective tools needed for making proper assessment of the impact of congestion on all roads in the Managed Network (equating all purpose roads with motorways) and identify the type of events which create that congestion;

4) Review the Highways Agency’s focus on Managed Motorway schemes and (i) look for more cost effective ways of achieving the same results and (ii) balance funding to focus not just on motorways but the significant benefits which can be achieved by better and more intelligent use of technology;

5) Set up a group to produce operational procedures for formal control of roadworks on all roads within the Managed Route Network;

6) Review the Department of Transport’s specific role in addressing consistency across all relevant areas of road network signing;

7) Review rules on the use of consultants/contractors as opposed to in-house staff. What we need is the ‘best’, wherever they may be employed;

8) Re-introduce the once excellent research programme to help properly inform decision making;

9) Re-focus on the carbon footprint caused by stationary vehicles as opposed to those which are moving – different classes of vehicle have different impact;

10) Look at concept of using tolling to allow other vehicles to use Bus Lanes without affecting bus journey times;

11) Introduce a suitable programme to assess how current traffic signal algorithms can be changed to maximise throughput in (i) normal route operation and (ii) in route managed operation;

12) Review roadwork procedures to find better ways of managing the impact of roadworks on traffic flow;

13) Find a means to provide proper basis for the funding and focus of technology developments for the whole of the road network.

We hope that the Committee find value in our submission and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss any detail that may be required by way of clarification or to provide further background needed with respect to our recommendations .

February 2011