Electronic message signs such as this one positioned on Huntingdon Road will crop up across Cambridge highlighting traffic congestion ahead to drivers.

MORE electronic message signs will appear on main routes into and out of Cambridge city centre highlighting traffic problems ahead.

There are just 11 so-called ‘variable message signs’ in Cambridge which are largely in place to let drivers en route into the city centre know how many parking spaces are left at each of the park-and-ride sites.

Meanwhile others – such as the electronic sign near the Girton Road junction along Huntingdon Road – display road safety messages such as “don’t drink and drive” or forewarn drivers of disruptions in the city centre such as “major roadworks in Downing Street”.

And cash-strapped Cambridgeshire County Council is investing in four more of these signs – costing £18,000 each - by the end of the current financial year and wants to provide more still in a bid to arm motorists with travel information on their journey ahead.

Traffic manager for Cambridgeshire at the county council Russell de Ville said the most state-of-the-art way of gauging up-to-date traffic information is by monitoring tweets sent from its traffic management centre at Shire Hall – currently manned on weekdays.

But developments in data analysis and the county council’s close working relationship with researchers at Cambridge University means the growing number of electronic message signs could soon provide real- time travel advice.

For instance if there are tailbacks on Milton Road into the city centre during rush hour a sign could flag up “10 minutes to Mitcham’s Corner”.

“Tweeting is the best way we have got of communicating with drivers before they set off on their journey,” said Mr de Ville.

“But the variable message signs would be the ultimate way as unless drivers were completely switched off they would see the signs for 
congestion ahead.

“At the moment you don’t know if there’s a problem until it’s too late and you’re stuck in traffic.

“We will not advise people on what route to use unless there is a specific reason to go that way.

“Neither are we encouraging traffic to use residential streets, for example we are more likely to advise people to stay on the M11 if there is an incident to the south of the city causing tailbacks into Cambridge.”

Meanwhile a new Transport Information Monitoring Environment (TIME) project at Cambridge University is feeding its research to the county council’s traffic management centre, helping to create an accurate 
database for the electronic 
message signs.

The TIME project uses ‘bus position data’ from Stagecoach Cambridgeshire to build up a picture of the traffic conditions at varying times of day and during different months - taking into account whether it is school term-time or holidays.

Professor Jean Bacon said: “Cambridge is a complex network of roads and we are looking at buses as they give a good coverage of the city.”