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Good Practice: Traffic Officer Service working with the Service Provider
January 2008
A major role of the bulletin is to publicise incident management best/good practice which is being conducted on the network. In previous months we have been notified of numerous cases such as Driver Location Signs mapping, Dealing with Straw Fires etc.
Stewart Evans, Route Performance Manager in the East region on secondment from the East Regional Control Centre recently notified us of how the Traffic Officer Service has worked together with stakeholders, notably the Service Provider, to reduce incident-related traffic congestion by adapting traffic signal settings and early communication.
This article will discuss the good practice taking place in the East region and also provide some general information on the traffic signal systems which are in existence on the network. This will determine whether this good practice can be used in other areas of the strategic road network.
Good Practice
Junction 23 on the M25 – the home of the East Regional Control Centre, has had circulatory issues on the roundabout at the junction. In order to overcome this, the Traffic Officer Service and Service Provider, Mouchel have found that early and close liaison following an incident can swiftly prevent any significant traffic congestion. Adjusting the timings and cycles on the traffic lights at the junction has enabled traffic to flow more freely from the motorway and away from the network.
The Service Provider and Traffic Officer Service are not simply stopping there! To take this further forward, the Service Provider’s Signals Manager will attend a Team Manager’s team meeting in the near future. This will enable both parties to do some two-way question and answering to understand the overall process and each others requirements.
Further to this, the Service Provider is also producing an Aide Memoire to provide telephone numbers for the Signals department and an overview to their role – it is hoped this idea will embed itself within their operational culture.
It must be noted that not all traffic lights on the strategic road network fall under the management of the Highways Agency. In the East for example, M11 junction 7 is a strategic point if you close the M25 (at the M11 intersection). The traffic signals here are managed by Essex County Council, meaning communication would have to be with their Traffic Control Centre.
Are you doing anything extra to assist on your network or incident management operations? If so, why not tell us about it. Please e-mail your ‘good practice’ ideas to TIMbulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk.
Other Traffic Light Systems on the Network
Most of the traffic signals on the Area 5 network are centrally controlled, and run variable timings to enable the majority of road traffic conditions to be automatically dealt with. There will however, be occasions when an override to these automatic settings needs to be implemented, and this may be achieved through contacting the Traffic Signals Manager at the Service Provider who will be able to assist and resolve any issues.
Summary
Building and maintaining relationships between incident responders is key to successful incident management. The above is an example of how establishing links with other stakeholders enables working practices to be made more efficient and effective. This enables all incident responders to understand and help to achieve each others common goals.
Many thanks to Stewart Evans for bringing this good practice to our attention.
Has this article been worthwhile reading? Why not take a moment to send us your comments, thoughts or questions. Please e-mail TIMbulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk.
