• Dorset Council will be using VivaCity sensors across the county to support major active travel and sustainable transport infrastructure developments
  
• Pre-implementation baseline data will be used to plan strategic interventions and measure post-implementation travel trends against in the future
  
• Long-term monitoring project with an initial 5 year period

We’re delighted to be working with Dorset Council on a major infrastructure development. Dorset Council was awarded funding from the Department of Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund. This investment will be used to develop a more sustainable transport network. 15 VivaCity sensors will soon be deployed throughout the region in Dorchester, Ferndown, Shaftesbury, Stapehill and Weymouth. These locations encompass a range of road network typologies, including rural areas, complex urban junctions and an historic harbour town.

The Council wants to understand the current cyclist, pedestrian and traffic usage and trends in these areas. This baseline data will be used to measure changes in behaviour and modal shift following the implementation of active travel focused schemes. These schemes will include new cycleways, walking routes and bus improvements, along with new crossings and wayfinding totems. This will make it easier and safer for people to make more sustainable and healthier travel choices.

Long-term monitoring approach

What makes this project particularly exciting for VivaCity is its long-term monitoring approach. Long-term monitoring allows for data aggregation over time. This means Dorset Council will gather insights to identify seasonal trends – an important monitoring aspect for parts of the county that have a thriving tourism industry.

Dorset Council will be primarily focussed on classified count data and road user paths. These data insights will accurately identify types and volumes of vehicular and active transport modes using the network and how they navigate the road space. Armed with this information, funding can be invested strategically with clear goals and objectives set rationally.

Joe Allen, Principal Technician (Data) at Dorset Council had a clear idea of what the project needed from a monitoring standpoint:

“We chose VivaCity sensors for this project because we needed to solve the challenge of monitoring pedestrians and cyclists movements. A lot of traditional monitoring tech couldn’t deliver within the locations required, so we were looking for something innovative and forward-thinking. I understand that VivaCity’s computer vision sensors have a really impressive level of accuracy for active travel monitoring and can’t wait to see the results. Data access is really simple – we can just use the API download and integrate it straight into our internal software. Another determining factor was related to the practicalities of actually getting a solution up and running. These sensors can be swiftly installed on existing street furniture so they won’t cause disruption for the road network and local communities which is of course really important.”

We’re really looking forward to getting the sensors installed across the region and providing Dorset Council with the data insights they need to achieve their sustainable transport network ambitions.

Discover how computer vision sensors can help accurately monitor Active Travel schemes

DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE NOW

VivaCity’s AI powered traffic sensors have a wide range of features including classified count and identification on multimodal road users and path detection. If you are curious to find out more about our traffic monitoring solution, please head over to our technology page. And if you have any questions or would like a free demo and no-obligation consultation with scoping of your upcoming projects, make sure to get in touch with the our team.

Like our content? Sign up to our newsletter and receive the latest updates in your inbox.