Request ID: FOI-1192-2122 Date published: 24 September 2021
You asked
You have been monitoring traffic (including cycles, motor vehicles and pedestrians) on Chiswick High Road since December 2020.
Please could you supply the following data:
(1) Daily (6am-10pm) counts of east-bound and west-bound traffic for each month between January and August 2021, split out between the following transport modes:
Cycles (in the cycle lane)
Cycles (on the road)
Buses
Taxis (black cabs)
Cars
Motorbikes
LGVs
OGVs
Pedestrians
NB - if you do not hold daily data, then please supply data in whatever intervals you capture. If it is not possible to separate cycles using the cycle lane & cycles on the road, please supply an aggregate figure for all cycle traffic.
(2) A brief explanation of the methodology being used to collect the traffic count data, covering the following queries:
(A) is the count conducted manually (via camera or in-person) or using an automated system?
(B) is a third-party (eg Vivacity Labs) providing the traffic count data, and if so, what is the cost of using this provider?
(C) at which location(s) on Chiswick High Road is the count being taken?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1192-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 2 September 2021, asking for traffic data on Chiswick High Road since December 2020.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:
Please could you supply the following data:
(1) Daily (6am-10pm) counts of east-bound and west-bound traffic for each month between January and August 2021, split out between the following transport modes: Cycles (in the cycle lane) Cycles (on the road) Buses Taxis (black cabs) Cars Motorbikes LGVs OGVs Pedestrians
(2) A brief explanation of the methodology being used to collect the traffic count data, covering the following queries:
(A) is the count conducted manually (via camera or in-person) or using an automated system?
(B) is a third-party (eg Vivacity Labs) providing the traffic count data, and if so, what is the cost of using this provider?
(C) at which location(s) on Chiswick High Road is the count being taken?
Please find attached the data from our digital camera sensors on Chiswick High Road. Data has been provided data from 24/03/2021, being the data the sensors went live following validation, until 31/08/2021, with the exception of S64_cycle lane which didn’t go live until 31/5/2021.
This data is collected from sensors attached to lamp columns in each of the locations shown on the map attached.
The sensors are installed and data processed by a third party.
Each sensor has an on-board camera, a processor and 3G connectivity. The camera takes video continuously and feeds this through to the processor, where machine learning algorithms are used to extract useful data and identify learnt objects within the video. Once objects have been identified and classified within the camera processor, the video feed is discarded, and the anonymous count number as a piece of binary information is sent to cloud servers and made available to TfL through web interfaces.
The sensors currently record the following categories: Cars, Pedestrians, Cyclists, Motorbikes, Buses, OGV1s, OGV2s and LGVs.
The sensors count different classes as they cross screen lines that are placed across the carriageway as part of the sensor set up.
Different classes of traffic can be counted across different screen-lines, for example, a single sensor may have more than one count line if lanes are segregated, one counting cyclists only and one counting general traffic.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
