Structural loading for the installation of ULEZ Expansion Cameras
Request ID: FOI-0608-2324 Date published: 20 June 2023
You asked
Follow up from FOI-0465-2324 - There are many criteria that affect the design strength and service life of a column, including:
• High winds and gale-force winds
• Corrosion
• Additional loadings – festive attachments
• Fatigue
• Insufficient material grade
• Foundation failure
• Excessive vibration
• Dog urine
• Aggressive environmental influences
• Ground moisture
• Air pollution
• Stray electrical currents
To gauge the effects of these factors, companies provide a full range of test solution elements including:
• Visual Inspection
• Force Deflection Test
• Handheld Force Deflection Test
• Ultrasonic (Loss of Section) Test
Were ANY of the above tests conducted? Can you please share any of the test results?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0608-2324
Thank you again for your request which we received on 24 May 2023, asking for information about results and tests conducted for attaching ULEZ cameras onto existing traffic signal posts.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
We haven’t undertaken any structural tests for attaching ULEZ cameras onto existing traffic signal posts, hence there are no results available. A risk assessment was conducted where it determined:
We have sufficient information on the condition of traffic signal posts as annual condition inspections are undertaken with condition information stored on TfL’s Site and Fault Management (SFM) system.
There has been no historic failure of these assets due to their condition.
The practice of sharing the signal post with a camera has been in action for over a decade with no indication of any issues.
This scheme will be installing similar cameras in a similar method to the traffic signal posts.
Based on the information above it is unlikely that a failure event is going to happen in the short to medium term.
The risk assessment also stated that any post with a condition rating of below three (3) shall not be used as part of the ULEZ project and that the condition score of each post will be reviewed as part of the Traffic Control Engineering assurance process for this project.
Note that condition information is based on visual inspections and scored between 1 and 5 where 1 is “very bad” and 5 is “excellent”. A condition score of 3 is deemed to be “acceptable”. In order to maintain the quality of the condition information, inspections are subject to a random sampling audit by the Surface Transport Asset Operations area teams, guided by the Data and Inspections Manager in TfL’s Asset Operations Performance Team. The condition scores are revisited on an annual basis to ensure any deterioration is picked up and dealt with.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
