Special equipment is being rolled out in Stratford and other towns to gather data about how new roadspace schemes are working.

The information gathered will help inform decisions concerning the schemes as it will enable the county council to assess traffic, cycle and pedestrian flows.

The equipment will also measure pedestrian footfall in key locations and monitor adherence to social distancing guidelines.

The data will be collected using a mix of automatic traffic counters, either radar devices that attach to street furniture or tubing laid across a road.

A new radar device will also be used in some areas. This uses video feeds to detect, classify and analyse road users. These devices can count pedestrians and cyclists, assess road user movements and provide social distancing analysis but do not collect or record personal data nor utilise facial recognition technology.

Changes to the future use of road space will be informed by the information that the monitors collect.

In addition to Stratford, the equipment will be deployed in eight other Warwickshire towns including Alcester and Warwick.

Cllr Jeff Clarke, portfolio holder for transport and planning at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Since the town centre roadspace schemes were launched, we have repeatedly said they are open to adaptation and that we were keen to engage with local businesses to see if we could address any issues they may have had.

“We are committed to supporting our town centre businesses at this very difficult time and will be as flexible as we can in supporting their requests. But the public’s health has to be the priority and guide whatever action we take. If there are areas where social distancing is not possible, we need to know where that is and consider how we should respond. This data will guide that response.

“It’s important to have a clear and full picture of how people are returning to town centres and using the road network. Monitoring the use of town centre roadspace will help us to work with all local partners and give us the evidence base that we need to make the best possible decisions.”

Full details of all schemes can be found at https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/covid19roadlayouts .