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In today’s cities, managing the kerbside has become a complex challenge. From parking areas and loading zones, to EV charging points and sustainable mobility infrastructure, the kerbside plays a vital role in our daily activities. However, the growing demand for kerbside space poses significant challenges for local authorities responsible for its regulation.
This is where Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) come into play, serving as legal instruments to regulate traffic and parking activities along the kerbside.
A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is a legal instrument used by local authorities in the UK to manage traffic flow, ensure road safety, and regulate parking.
Established under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, TROs can be permanent, temporary, or experimental, addressing issues such as speed limits, one-way streets, road closures for events, and parking controls.
They are essential for reducing congestion, enhancing safety, and promoting environmental protection. The process of implementing a TRO involves consultation with stakeholders, publication for public objections, and, once confirmed, the installation of relevant signs and markings.
Check this article to better understand TRO.
Currently, the centralisation and management of TROs encounters significant hurdles due to the absence of standardised storage and administration methods. Local authorities rely on disparate systems, ranging from electronic databases to document management systems, to store TROs. This lack of uniformity complicates the transition to digital solutions and impedes efficient TRO management.
However, with the recently announced Automated Vehicle Act, the need for a streamlined approach to digitise and manage TROs has become more pressing. Digital TROs (D-TROs) are crucial for the safe and efficient deployment of self-driving vehicles. By gathering standardised and accessible digital information on speed limits, road closures, bus lanes, and parking regulations, the UK government can ensure the country has the necessary digital infrastructure for the future adoption of autonomous vehicles.
To achieve this, local traffic authorities will need to publish D-TROs to a central digital publication platform, posing a significant challenge for many of them that don’t have the means or expertise to carry out this heavy digitisation process.
To address this, CurbIQ offers local authorities a comprehensive solution to digitise and manage TROs in a simple and cost-effective manner. By centralizing D-TRO data and providing user-friendly tools for visualisation, planning, and analytics, CurbIQ empowers authorities to navigate the complexities of kerbside regulations and share the data with third parties and the public.
CurbIQ envisions a future where TROs evolve from static documents to dynamic digital assets that enhance traffic management and urban mobility. With the CurbIQ platform, this vision becomes tangible, paving the way for a more effective and sustainable approach to kerbside planning and governance.
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CurbIQ consists of a variety of tools that provide TRO digitisation, visualisation, management, and analysis, which together provide considerable transparency, flexibility, and efficiency to the entire kerbside and TRO management process for local authorities. CurbIQ solutions can be broken down into three different components: 1) TRO Digitisation, 2) the Software Platform, and 3) Data Sharing & Integrations.
CurbIQ's automated kerbside digitisation processes allow us to efficiently gather Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and all kerbside-related data, converting it into a unified and standardised digital map for Local Authorities rapidly and cost-effectively.
CurbIQ offers two solutions for creating a digital inventory of TROs, which can be selected individually or used in combination based on the specific requirements of each local authority: 1) TRO Automation, and 2) On-Street Surveying.
TRO Automation takes existing TRO data from different local authority databases and automatically converts it into a digital and standardised map of kerbside regulations. Whether the local authority stores TROs as PDF tables, Excel files, or geo databases, CurbIQ can take any existing dataset and transform into a standardised and unified dataset. The only requirement is that the TRO data has some type of geolocation reference.
Because this process is dependent on the inputted data, the associated attributes generated are limited to what is available in the existing data. CurbIQ can additionally aggregate other transportation assets into the digital map such as bike racks, EV charging points, off-street lots, or any other mobility datasets that local authorities may have.
For local authorities without existing TRO datasets or with data gaps, on-street surveying provides the best solution. This method involves gathering kerbside regulation data on-site to establish a standardised digital inventory from the ground up or to supplement existing inventories. We offer two surveying methods tailored to the scope and size of the study area: Kerb-Level Surveying for small, densely populated urban areas, and Augmented Mobile Mapping for larger, lower-density areas.
To accommodate various demands of accuracy and image quality, we provide various versions of this solution: using standard cameras (such as high-end mobile phone or GoPro) or high-end 360-imagery cameras.
In the past we have also partnered with local mobile mapping companies to conduct these surveys. By leveraging local expertise and resources, we can ensure more efficient data collection and processing, tailored to the specific needs and conditions of each project. These partnerships allow us to combine our advanced AMM technology with the on-the-ground knowledge and capabilities of local companies, ultimately delivering a more comprehensive and customised solution to our clients.
The effectiveness of kerbside management relies heavily on the ability to efficiently visualise, manage, and evaluate data. CurbIQ offers a comprehensive platform tailored to facilitate all stages of planning, reporting, and analysis of Digital Traffic Regulation Orders (D-TROs).
A crucial element in mitigating congestion and addressing parking challenges is the effective communication of TROs and alternative mobility options to cities and their stakeholders, empowering them to make informed planning and travel decisions. CurbIQ offers a visualisation platform specifically tailored to address this need by providing comprehensive information on TROs, parking availability, and mobility assets, considering both regulatory requirements and user demand.
Through CurbIQ's visualisation platform, local authorities and stakeholders can efficiently navigate TROs, assess parking regulations, and explore alternative mobility options, contributing to improved traffic management and urban mobility outcomes.
CurbIQ also has the built-in capability to show how kerbsides are utilised. CurbIQ can integrate and display real-time space availability from a variety of sources simultaneously, including road sensors, cameras, payment apps, smart meters, or EV charging points.
CurbIQ is vendor agnostic and has integrated with over a dozen different demand source vendors, with some examples highlighted below:
CurbIQ also offers a version of the visualisation tool that is specifically designed for the general public. It simplifies restrictions and the user interface for a more seamless public experience and can be accessed by users at no cost to them through a variety of web browsers on mobiles, tablets, and desktops. This public-facing map can also be embedded in local authority websites.
Updating TROs presents a significant challenge for many local authorities, often demanding substantial resources and leading to redundant efforts. Fortunately, CurbIQ offers a tailored D-TRO management tool to address this challenge. With CurbIQ, local authorities can seamlessly manage and customise their D-TROs, effortlessly adding, removing, or modifying any regulations, while also modelling potential scenarios and implementing changes through an intuitive, visual, and dynamic user interface.
This tool empowers authorities to make both permanent and temporary changes to TROs. For instance, they can easily implement a 'No Parking' regulation on a busy segment during peak periods or establish regulations for temporary conditions, such as road closures for special events or dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones to support the economic recovery of local businesses. Moreover, CurbIQ provides the flexibility to manage any type of parking and mobility asset inventory. Authorities can virtually add or remove EV charging stations, update bus route information, or relocate bike share stations with ease.
All these management tasks are efficiently handled through a digital database within CurbIQ, ensuring that the digital source of truth remains future-ready.
Moreover, CurbIQ is designed to handle various third-party software integrations and accommodating changes in regulations from different departments across multiple platforms that local authorities may use. For instance, it seamlessly handles updates such as parking rate recommendations, dynamic pricing engines, work orders, and revised asset locations from asset management software. CurbIQ's D-TRO management platform is designed to ingest and manage these diverse data sources, recognizing that kerbside changes originate from various staff and departments.
CurbIQ also collaborates with third-party software to incorporate its data and proposed changes, facilitating the generation of work orders, rate adjustments for operators, and other necessary actions.
In addition to providing D-TRO visualisation and management capabilities for local authorities, CurbIQ's analysis platform enables the comprehensive analysis of both D-TRO & kerb space supply data and kerb utilisation data. CurbIQ offers dashboards tailored to meet the needs of local authorities, offering insights into the holistic condition of the kerb space. This tool empowers authority planners to model how kerb space is designated and utilised, uncovering trends that inform better planning for limited parking and kerb space allocation.
The analysis platform offers insights into various aspects of kerb space management, including:
CurbIQ's analytics dashboards facilitates informed planning decisions related to the kerbside, with common use cases including:
Furthermore, all data and visualisations on the dashboards are exportable in PDF, Excel, and JSON formats, enabling local authority staff to quickly generate visuals and data for reports or council meetings.
While the CurbIQ platform serves as a valuable tool for local authority staff in their D-TRO management tasks, there are other departments and stakeholders who may have different uses for this data in their own software systems. Additionally, there are third-party mobility companies and entities that do not have access to the CurbIQ platform but could benefit from this information for their operations. The CurbIQ team believes in maximizing the accessibility of kerbside data to benefit as many stakeholders as possible. Hence, CurbIQ’s Kerb APIs allow various users to connect to the local authorities’ D-TRO and kerbside data stored in the CurbIQ central database and integrate it into their own applications and mobility platforms for their advantage.
The potential uses of these APIs are diverse. Internally within a local authority, various departments and staff members can benefit from easier access to kerb space data. TRO and enforcement staff can quickly verify whether vehicles are parked illegally using real-time occupancy data. Planning and Engineering staff can overlay kerb data on GIS software to understand how TROs affect construction and design plans. Special events staff can utilise existing kerbside data to plan street closures and reallocate parking spots during events.
Additionally, third-party users, such as companies operating passenger and commercial delivery services at the kerbside, parking payment apps, EV charging point operators, pay station companies, and third-party developers, can derive value from accessing kerb space data. Whether for day-to-day operations or long-term planning, kerbside data is beneficial to a variety of users for various purposes. CurbIQ’s Kerb APIs serve as an ideal solution to make kerb spaces function more effectively for everyone involved.
Starting the D-TRO journey may seem like a daunting step to many local authorities. However, CurbIQ is committed to make the digitalisation journey as simple and seamless as possible, supporting councils from beginning to end. The process involves several key steps, each designed to ensure a smooth transition to D-TROs and effective kerbside management.
Procuring CurbIQ is possible through G-Cloud, UK Government’s Digital Marketplace, where local authorities and public sector buyers can browse, evaluate, and purchase services directly from this online platform.
In conclusion, CurbIQ offers a simple solution to the complex challenges of digitising and managing Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) through digital kerbside management. By providing user-friendly tools for collecting, visualizing, managing, and analysing TROs, CurbIQ empowers local authorities to efficiently optimise their kerb space.
The announced Automated Vehicle Act further underscores the importance of transitioning to digital solutions for TRO management. CurbIQ's platform not only addresses this need but also envisions a future where TROs evolve into dynamic digital assets, enhancing traffic management and urban mobility.
With solutions tailored to digitising TROs, managing them digitally, and providing comprehensive analysis, CurbIQ ensures transparency, flexibility, and efficiency throughout the entire kerbside and D-TRO management process. By centralizing D-TRO data and integrating real-time information, CurbIQ facilitates informed decision-making and strategic planning for local authorities. Moreover, CurbIQ's Kerb APIs extend the benefits of kerbside data beyond local authorities, allowing various stakeholders to integrate this valuable information into their own applications and mobility platforms.
In essence, CurbIQ not only addresses the current challenges of kerbside management but also paves the way for a more effective, sustainable, and inclusive approach to governing our urban spaces.
