At a ceremony during the organization’s annual President’s Dinner, ITS (UK) presented its prestigious 2018 Awards, with projects that reduce the chance of being stuck at a red light, improve the use of kerbspace in cities, and make motorways safer, among the winners.
At the event in Bristol, ITS (UK)’s president Steven Norris, who presented the awards, commented, “Once again the best of UK ITS has been on show at our awards. These winners demonstrate the real difference ITS is making on our transport network, improving air quality, road safety and reducing congestion.”
The winners of the ITS-UK 2018 Annual Awards were:
• The Forward Thinking Award – A project to deliver a Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) radar system on the M25 motorway that was a collaboration between a number of companies including the Atkins consultancy division of SNC Lavalin, Dynniq, Cubic Transportation Systems, Highways England, Jackson-Civils, Navtech Radar, and Connect Plus Services. The system reduces the risks posed by stranded vehicles stopping in a ‘live’ lane and being hit and provides the opportunity for safety measures such as Variable Message Signs (VMS) and changeable speed limits and Red X warnings to be activated far quicker;
• The Project of the Year Award – The West Midlands Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) scheme that was introduced by Birmingham City Council on the A45 Coventry Road and provides information about current and predicted signal stage used to help drivers manage their speed on the approach to signals. The project shows a 10-14% reduction in stop starts over the 3.7-mile (6km) long trial route with 10 junctions, and a consequent reduction of 5-7% in journey times for the test vehicles;
• The new Innovative App of the Year Award – The Kerb app developed by Grid Smarter Cities, which has the ability to dramatically benefit urban transportation, reducing congestion, and improving operating efficiency by allowing vehicle operators to book park/load-unload spaces on the kerbside on previously unavailable space in high-density, urban areas. It can be used not only by the freight industry, but also by coaches, electric vehicles in charging bays, and maintenance and servicing vehicles;
• The Young Professional of the Year Award – Samuel Brierley from Dynniq, who has become a pivotal part of the company’s new consulting department in the five years since he joined from university. He is now international product manager for air quality management, managing the developments of Dynniq’s Virtual Emissions Monitor 2.0 to its clients in Finland and the Netherlands. He is also looking at how AI and machine learning can help in predicting and automating the optimization of traffic lights;
• The Rees Hills Award for Outstanding Personal Contribution – Richard Gibson of IDT Limited for his role in an SME for the last 25 years. He was recognized for always ‘delivering new ideas and value far bigger than his company IDT really ought to be capable of’. Gibson has been involved in innovations for equipment, but also leading the development of UTMC (Urban Traffic Management Control) and the recent CROCS project, which will help ensure UK traffic control operations can meet the needs of connected vehicles without wholesale change.
