Traffic surveys to help with development of business case for Whittlesey relief road

A series of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) surveys are taking place on key routes in Whittlesey between 27 November - 2 December, to assist with the development of a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for the long-running relief road plans.

The business case is the next step in the project which aims to tackle transport issues and congestion in Whittlesey and boost future economic growth.

It will examine a range of transport solutions to assess and determine whether the relief road is the best option to push forward - and demonstrate the need for government funding to make it happen.

The ANPR surveys will help to identify and understand the needs and demands on the current transport network and be used to inform different options for what a future network might look like.

Cllr Chris Seaton, Fenland District Council's portfolio holder for transport and member of the Whittlesey Relief Road project board, said data gathered from the surveys would be an important part of the research feeding into the business case.

"The team from highways consultants Mott McDonald is already making great progress on the development of the outline business case, which is an important step in evidencing the need for a relief road," he said. "These surveys will provide a fascinating insight into the way traffic moves through the town centre and help develop a robust case for government funding."

Mott McDonald, which was appointed by the Whittlesey Relief Road project board earlier this year, is working with elected representatives and officers from Fenland District Council, Whittlesey Town Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) to draw up the SOBC.

The results of the ANPR surveys will provide a current, accurate picture of the traffic routes around Whittlesey, by vehicle type. It will also provide details of journey times on key routes through the town centre, showing each vehicle's entry and exit point for through traffic.

The ANPR surveys will be undertaken by traffic survey specialists, Intelligent Data Collection. At each of the survey locations, traffic count equipment will be mounted on to street furniture to record timestamped numberplates of vehicles.

The equipment, along with the DVLA and Manufacturer Database, will be used to quantify the volume of traffic in each direction and collate information about vehicle type, vehicle class, fuel type and vehicle emission data. Any personal data collected as part of the survey will be held in line with GDPR requirements by the relevant parties.

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November 2023