STREETWISE - Seamless TRavel Environment for Efficient Transport in the Western ISles of Europe
Overview
Background & policy context:
STREETWISE is one of the seven Euro-Regional Projects aiming to harmonise the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) across the Trans-European Road Network (TERN). It covers the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the South-East of England is part of the CENTRICO project, within the same Multi-annual Indicative programme. These projects are partly funded by the European Commission (DG-TREN).
Objectives:
STREETWISE's objectives echo the aims of the European Transport White Paper and partner's national strategies. These are:
- to improve safety;
- make best use of existing networks;
- reduce congestion;
- improve services to travelling customers;
- and make better use of public transport, whilst minimising overall impact on the environment.
There is a commitment to pan-European deployment of ITS. This recognises:
- the increasing levels of trade and interaction between European countries, resulting in greater levels of cross-border traffic;
- the pan-European nature of vehicle, equipment and service providers;
- that Great Britain is the land bridge to Ireland; and
- that such an outlook helps deliver European transport policy cost-effectively and quickly.
Methodology:
Work is divided into four technical domains. These demonstrate a natural progression through the assimilation and application of data for traffic management. The national partners each take a lead in at least one of the domains, supporting programmes across the UK and Republic of Ireland in order to assess the feasibility of different technologies and solutions.
Domain One deals with monitoring applications. It looks at alternatives to standard loop-based infrastructure, such as automatic number plate recognition, floating vehicle data and intelligent road studs.
Domain Two deals with upgrades to traffic centres and the exchange of data between these centres. Key work includes OTAP (Open Traffic data Access Protocol), DATEX (Data Exchange) and VIH (Video Information Highway).
Domain Three deals with traffic management and control of the TERN. It focuses on journey time initiatives and proactive traffic management, using Variable Message Signs (VMS) to provide drivers with information. It also deals with the management of the interfaces between urban and inter-urban networks.
Domain Four deals with traffic information services through Internet services (Transport Direct in UK and NADICS in Scotland), information kiosks on ferries and information for freight drivers on Long Distance journeys across borders.
Two further domains are Integrated Projects and Euro-Regional Integrated Projects, which includes Common projects between partners, Freight, Long Distance Corridors, OTAP and Expert Groups. These projects cross country and Euro-Regional Project boundaries to share knowledge, specialities and experience in order to reach common goals. The last two domains are horizontal activities and project management. An important focus within these domains is evaluation - STREETWISE has taken a lead in developing frameworks and guidelines for the Euro-Regional Projects.
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