Press Releases

4th March 2007

Leicestershire County Council Install The First Cycle Activated Traffic Sign

A Cycle Activated Traffic Sign (CATS) has been installed as part of the Sustrans National Cycle Route in Leicestershire. Matthew Smith, Assistant Engineer, with Leicestershire County Council, says that when LCC was asked to put a cycle crossing on the 60 mph A453, they faced quite a challenge. The crossing was on a new cycle link to East Midlands Airport which was being introduced as part of a strategy by the airport authorities to encourage more of the 7,500 people working on site to cycle to work.

The EMA had worked closely on their Surface Access Strategy with Sustrans with the new link set to form part of the Sustrans National Cycle Route 15 - which links Nottingham to Lincolnshire - and part of the Sustrans Three Cities Cycling Network Project. This project aims to make cycling a realistic option for the majority of local journeys in the heart of the East Midlands by 2015.

The problem facing the engineers, says Matthew, is that user-controlled crossing are not advised for use on a national speed limit road because of the high speeds and subsequently longer stopping distances. "We would have run into all sorts of problems if we had gone down the route of putting in a push button crossing, not least the approval issues. And we were not happy with a push button crossing on a road without a formal crossing because it would raise unrealistic expectations with cyclists and pedestrians that something would happen to traffic".

Besides, he says that they were not keen to put in overhead detectors at the site. For a start it would have meant putting up a pole to mount the cameras and then there would have been the on-going maintenance requirements to keep the detectors fully functioning. So, Matthew Smith put on his thinking cap and looked for an alternative solution.

He found it in an unexpected place. Through the Traffic Control Users Group he was aware of the X-Flo Pedestrian Detection System, an in-ground detection pad which was being marketed in the UK by Motus Traffic Ltd. as an alternative to the above ground detectors at pedestrian crossings. A working sample was duly delivered and Matthew took it along to a local signal contractor's depot and asked them to have a look. Their immediate reaction was pretty negative, he says. They had experience of installing in-ground detection pads before and their experience was that they had not worked. "We plugged it into the controller and did some tests and everyone was quite surprised. It worked. We were impressed by how simple it was and how sensitive, you just had to put a toe onto the pad and you could see the signal going to the controller". This test convinced Matthew that he had found what he was looking for.

What Leicestershire CC have installed on the A453 is the first CATS (Cycle Activated Traffic Sign) which uses the pressure pads to activate a VAS (Vehicle Activated Sign). What happens is that if a cyclist rides over the pad (or waits to cross) at the same time as an approaching car is detected by the sign’s radar, the amber lights and "Slow Down Message" are activated in the VAS. The idea, says Matthew, is that the lights will warn drivers so they can slow down but the cyclist at the CAT crossing is unaware that a sign is being activated down the road and so proceeds with the same level of caution.

And it works. The crossing went live in September 2006 and initial results during speed monitoring exercises show a 10% reduction in the mean speeds when the CATS are activated. Monitoring will continue and although a full user survey has not yet been carried out, the feedback so far has been excellent. Matthew Smith says he is delighted with the result. "We are very pleased with how the crossing is working. Looking long term, what is particularly attractive about using the X-Flo pad is its reliability. Unless it is vandalised, or someone parks a very heavy vehicle on it, which they should not be doing there, I cannot see any reason why it should need any maintenance".

As to the crossing itself, as well as a lot of local interest, it has already attracted interest from Holland. Matthew Smith believes that it may well provide a sound basis for future developments. "A similar scheme could be used for pedestrian crossings and horse crossings where levels of use do not justify a formally controlled crossing such as a pelican or toucan".

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