Last month, the Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced £70 million of investment to deliver a raft of measures to make traffic signals more efficient, including the replacement of old equipment, a new “Green Light Fund” and new technology to better manage city centre traffic. This is being described as “the biggest investment in traffic signals in decades”.

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On this week's Highways Voices we get an update on the application process. With letters and guidance being sent to council Chief Officers across England, we hear from ITS Policy Lead at the Department for Transport Darren Capes.

Darren gave an update to the Transport Technology Forum Autumn update meeting yesterday, 14 November.

"There isn't an 87 page questionnaire to fill in," he explains. "For those of you that filled in the funding process for 2020-21 for TSM [Traffic Signals Maintenance grants], you will remember we asked you seven questions to probe your understanding of your network, probe your policy framework, probe your readiness to deliver we'll do the same thing we will ask questions that allow you to provide us with evidence."

As well as Chief Officers, councils’ signals managers will be contacted by the Department for Transport in the coming days, urging them to consider which funds they wish to apply for. The Transport Technology Forum is working with by the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) to manage the challenge process on behalf of the DfT.

Read the guidance here.

You'll also hear news from the sector and our partners, and who wins "Adrian's Accolade" this week.