The council operates 49 permanent Automatic Traffic Counter (ATC) sites across main A roads in Lincolnshire, gathering 24/7 data on vehicle volume and classification. This information, collected via inductive loops installed in the road surface, helps the council understand road usage patterns and identify areas requiring investment, improvements, or maintenance.
Cllr David East, executive member for highways, stated that good decisions depend on good information. "Understanding how much traffic our roads carry and the types of vehicles using helps us plan for the future, make better investment decisions and target maintenance where it will have the greatest benefit," he said. He added that the data supports not only day-to-day management but also building the case for major transport investment, assessing new developments, and allocating limited maintenance funding effectively.
Traffic data is crucial for developing transport models that assess the need for major infrastructure projects, predicting traffic changes, testing solutions, and providing evidence for investment. Schemes like the North Hykeham Relief Road and recent Levelling Up Fund (LUF) projects have benefited from this robust data. The information also aids in assessing planning applications for new housing, modelling potential traffic impacts, and ensuring appropriate mitigation measures are considered.
The data also helps engineers understand road wear, particularly from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). By analysing both traffic levels and vehicle types, engineers can make informed decisions about necessary repairs, enabling more precise maintenance targeting and potentially allowing more roads to be maintained within the available budget. Temporary counters using radar technology are also deployed for more detailed information, supporting speed limit reviews and network design.
Chris Neal, laboratory services manager at Lincolnshire County Council, highlighted that traffic counters are part of a broader data collection programme. "By bringing different types of information together, we can give our engineers a better understanding of the network and the evidence they need to plan ahead," he explained. This comprehensive approach considers road usage, vehicle types, and performance for future maintenance planning.
In addition to automated counters, manual traffic surveys are conducted by a team of Traffic Data Enumerators to record vehicle volumes and classifications from the roadside, providing detailed local traffic insights. These surveys help calculate Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) and can inform decisions on road design, maintenance, and improvements, including assessing the justification for pedestrian crossings using the PV² assessment method.
Chris Neal emphasised the value of this evidence-based approach, stating, "Whether we’re assessing a proposed development, planning a major transport scheme or deciding how best to maintain a road, reliable data helps us understand the issues and make better-informed choices." For a county with approximately 5,500 miles of roads, this insight is vital for long-term network planning.
The collected traffic data is integral to Lincolnshire County Council's planning for transport investment, development proposals, and highway network management, ultimately supporting better planning, targeted maintenance, and value for money for taxpayers. More information is available at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lincslab.
