Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd (CWCL) will be the first company to implement technology helping HGV drivers take alternative routes in order to protect cyclists and reduce pollution and congestion.
CWCL will use technology currently being developed by PIE Mapping, a freight routing company which took part in Canary Wharf Group’s (CWG) recent Cognicity Challenge. The software will create routes which will minimise road sharing between HGV’s and cyclists during peak periods and navigate them towards other routes at less busy times of the day.
It will be pioneered on CWG and Qatari Diar’s mixed-use Southbank Place development on the Shell Centre site (pictured) which recently got the go-ahead after overcoming a legal challenge.
The contract with PIE Mapping was awarded just days after London Mayor Boris Johnson announced plans to force HGV’s delivering materials to large construction sites to follow specific routes in order to reduce the number of collisions involving cyclists on the capital’s roads.
Cormac MacCrann, Managing Director of CWCL, said: “We are delighted to be the first London construction company to implement this technology on our Southbank Place project.
“Our Cognicity Challenge programme gave us a huge opportunity to mobilise the latest technological advances so it is very pleasing that we are already seeing the benefits of the programme.
He continued to say that it is crucial that the construction industry rises to the challenge of reducing pollution and congestion, along with minimising the risk to cyclists and other road users, and he called on other contractors to adopt the routing system.
Freddie Talberg, CEO of PIE Mapping, added: “All road users benefit from efficient journey times and realised ETA’s and we know drivers prefer to share the roads safely with cycling commuters.
“I hope our service goes part of the way to give safer routing. What we do need is for the industry to stand up and get involved to fully enable us to make our city smart. We have the technology and we need to work it so it can work effectively for all.”
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