Nottingham City Council to receive funding to help manage traffic
• Nottingham City Council is to receive £50,000 to develop solutions to ease congestion in cities
• The council is one of 11 to receive total funding of £1m
• The UK is at the forefront of a parking revolution, with new, world-leading standards announced by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS)
Nottingham City Council has been awarded £50,000 to use its data to tackle congestion and modernise parking, it was announced this week.
The funding is in addition to the national introduction of new standards developed by the APDS, with the aim being for all parking data released by local councils and companies across the country to use the same language, supporting the development of parking apps.
Nottingham City Council will use the funding to develop a data hub, monitoring and sharing traffic and congestion levels across the city, using data from existing traffic signals equipment; parking data; road works permit data; electric vehicle charging point availability and air quality.
The City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport, Adele Williams, said: “We are focused on keeping Nottingham moving – giving people the best and easiest ways of moving in and around the city, however they choose to travel.
“We have an outstanding public transport system in Nottingham, and many people leave their cars at home to get to where they need to be.
“This funding will allow us to help people make better decisions about their travel options, by making use of our existing transport data to provide live information about traffic and parking to anyone using our roads. In this way we can improve the efficiency of our transport network and ease congestion.”
Future of Mobility Minister, Michael Ellis, said: “We are on the brink of a revolution for the future of transport, with ground-breaking technologies and new data opportunities creating huge opportunities for cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable journeys.
“We now need to ensure the infrastructure surrounding these technologies is in place and can accommodate these innovations. The new parking data standards will bring government, private organisations and technologies together to ensure a smoother parking experience for drivers.”
Chair of the British Parking Association and Chair of the Alliance for Parking Data Standards, Nigel Williams, said: “The new standards will enable the next generation of apps and connected cars to find a parking space, park and pay – with little or no intervention from the driver. The involvement of the British Parking Association in APDS has ensured that the UK is at the forefront of innovation to improve the customer experience of parking.”
The allocation of funding to revolutionise parking follows the publication of the Government’s Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, and is a world-first. By helping to streamline the parking experience and making it easier for drivers to find a suitable parking place, the standards could ultimately free up crucial space, easing congested cities and boosting British high streets.