A CCTV system from Vicon is contributing to traffic management in Durham city centre.
Vicon’s Surveyor dome cameras and Kollector DVRs are assisting the local authority to encourage visitors to use the centre’s shopping and recreational facilities while discouraging them from travelling in their cars. The CCTV is helping secure vehicles in Park and Ride facilities at three places on the outskirts of Durham. It is considered particularly important that vehicles should be safeguarded at these sites since potential thieves and vandals know that cars are likely to be there for a large part of the day.
The Vicon equipment is not only making people feel more comfortable about leaving their cars out of town but has also thrown up some remarkable success stories.
Operators using the Surveyor dome noticed that a lady customer had a flat tyre. Since regular customers pay with pre-credited Smart cards, staff were able to enter the registration plate into a database, access the customer’s details, forewarn her that she had a flat and even arrange for attendants to assist her when she returned! There has been a case in which an operator noticed keys left in a vehicle’s ignition. Management secured the car and the keys were left waiting in reception for the driver.
The scheme, which went live in December, is overseen by Durham County Council and run by NCP who report to the council under a management contract. The principal site is Belmont with the satellite sites communicating by fibre network over a LAN using the ViconNet software platform. Operators at Belmont take control of the Howlands Farm and Sniperley cameras when required.
County council traffic managers are using the ViconNet software platform which lets them place cameras and DVRs at strategic points anywhere in the system and so best meet the needs of car drivers and security operators.
Camera coverage at the pay stations is extensive so customers are reassured that there is a monitoring presence as they handle cash or credit cards. And if a customer is seen to spend more than time than usual at the pay station, perhaps being unsure how to work the ticket machine, again an observant operator in the control room can assist them and a friendly voice and face can come over the tannoy and screen offering advice.
What they say
David Battensby of Durham County Council’s Traffic Section said: "Everything about this operation had to have the stamp of quality from the dedicated, liveried buses to the pictures from the Vicon CCTV system. Footage from the Vicon DVRs gives us the kind of data we need and provides Durham Constabulary with high quality images where necessary." Chris Wall, Managing Director of Vicon, added: "This application shows how CCTV is improving people’s lives at different levels. We hear that 500 less vehicles a day are entering the city centre. The knock-on benefits will be substantial. Falling congestion and pollution levels and improved pedestrian safety and comfort will make shopping and leisure activities that more pleasurable."
