The National Street Gazetteer Underpinning the national ... - Iahub.net

‘A centrally maintained, current andcomprehensive NSG is crucial to theefficiency of all utilities and their postingof notifications’The National StreetGazetteerThe NSG is anunambiguousreferencing systemwhich identifies anylength of highway orroad in England andWales through thecompilation of localstreet datadirect from theHighway AuthoritiesOnline hubserviceIntelligent Addressing tookover management of the onlineNSG hub service under theterms of the Mapping ServicesAgreement with localgovernment. This agreementunifies the management ofboth the NSG and the NationalLand and Property Gazetteerunder the one organisation.It contributes to the greatere-Government vision ofproducing definitive nationaldatasets for streets andaddresses for sharing bothlocally and nationally, andforming part of the informationinfrastructure to support theprovision of improved citizencentred services.The NSG hub collates andvalidates street data createdand supplied by each highwayauthority in England and Walesand provides the compositestreet index which is used bygas, electricity, water, phoneand other utility companies asthe definitive reference whenobtaining approval toundertake co-ordinated streetworks so that they may meettheir statutory obligations toprovide the appropriate StreetWorks notices.Underpinning street worksStreets are part of thecountry’s infrastructurethrough which manycitizen centred servicesare provided. There aretherefore a range ofstreet related issues suchas congestion, capacityplanning, street works,accidents, incidents andmaintenance which affectthem. A core datasetwhich records all of them,and their attributes isessential.The National StreetGazetteer is the definitivereference system used inthe notification process andthe coordination of streetworks as required underthe New Roads and StreetWorks Act (1991), the NSGcontains more than 1million streets.Under the legislation,each highway authorityin England and Wales isrequired to create andmaintain its own localstreet gazetteer andassociated street data.These are then compiledinto a master index built toBritish Standard BS 7666,for access by all types ofutility organisations via theNSG online hub, managedby Intelligent Addressing.The NSG uses anunambiguous referencingsystem, using Unique StreetReference Numbers withwhich to identify anylength of highway, street orroad in England and Wales.Set up initially to improvehighway maintenance, theNSG enables highwayauthorities to coordinateactivities and the utilities toknow where and when todig holes.On a monthly basis, some176 highway authoritiesacross England and Walesupload their streetgazetteers, along withassociated street data, tothe NSG hub using anonline facility. This enablesall utility companies andother organisations whoare seeking approval toundertake street works tomeet their statutoryrequirements to providethe appropriate streetworks notifications bydownloading theappropriate NSGgeographical coverageonline. Highway authoritiesare required to providequarterly updates, and theircommitment to theprovision of high qualitydata means that they allwill soon be providingmonthly updates.The legislation requires thatall publicly maintainedstreets, prospective publiclymaintained streets, as wellas private streets arerecorded in the NSG.www.thensg.org.uk

‘As a centralised list of all streets andassociated features, the NSG is essential inmaintaining and protecting highways andtheir users’Anthony O’Sullivan, Chair of the CSS Information Management Group and Head of Service (Highways, Transportation & Engineering) City & Council of SwanseaContinualmaintenanceTo date, the NSG contains overone million records coveringthe whole of England andWales. Updated constantly bylocal experts at source, it isoffering the most currentsolution to meet all types ofstreet works activity needs.Underpinning knowledgeThe NSG has exceeded itsinitial aims to enable theconsistent andunambiguous identificationof streets and theirassociated street data.The street gazetteer hasbecome a foundation forthe National Land andProperty Gazetteer and thebasis for Transport forLondon’s road networkthrough the Pan LondonStreet Gazetteer.The NSG contains a wealth ofuseful information includingstreet length, junctions, streetcentre lines, and a mass ofassociated street data such as:• Details of ownership• Width and heightrestrictions• Protected streets• Traffic sensitive streets• Streets with specialengineering difficulty• Level crossing safety zones• Environmentally sensitiveareas• Streets with special surfaces• Structures• Pipelines• Streets with priority lanes• Streets with specialconstruction needs.The following types of streetsare included in the NSG:• Motorways• Classified principal streetsincluding trunk roads andother classified numberedstreets• Other publicly maintainedunclassified numberedstreets• Prospective publiclymaintained streets• Private streets known to thehighway authority• Cycleways• Remote footpaths• Subways that are publiclymaintained• FootpathsThe National StreetGazetteerThe NSG ensures thatinformation is collectedonce only, but correctly,so that it can bereferenced by manyorganisations that sharethe same purposeAs every highway authorityprovides regular updates, theNSG has consolidated its placeas the de jure datasetunderpinning the nationaltransport infrastructure.www.thensg.org.uk

‘Centralising our road information hasimproved service delivery andcommunications with residentsthroughout the Borough’Simon Gelenscer, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and winner of NSG Exemplar Award 2006Underpinning the national infrastructureThe NSG has the potentialto revolutionise access tostreet data and streetworks information to thebenefit of in carnavigation, mobile phoneservices and a host ofother applications thatrely on up to date,detailed street level datasuch as pay-as-you-driveor congestion charging.The currency of thedataset will make itattractive to anyone whoneeds access to up to datedata, and who needs toreflect changes in streetusage and designation.The NSG also enhances theNational Land and PropertyGazetteer, the definitivenational land and propertydataset which containsmore than 30 millionresidential, business andnon-mailing addresses inEngland and Wales.Rapid technological changehas provided the drivingforce for local authoritiesand their partners to carryout innovative electronicinformation managementprojects. For these to besuccessfully realised it isessential that informationbe referenced to acommonly understood andstandardised streetgazetteer. Local Authoritiesuse the Unique StreetReference Number to linkdata between applicationsand across directorates, forexample linking highwaysfunctions withenvironmental healthfunctions.Usage of the streetgazetteer by localauthorities include:• Safe routes to school• Street worksco-ordination• Asset management ofhighway assets andstreet furniture• Support grants for roadmaintenance• Traffic analysis• Risk management andhighway related claims• Management ofhighway drainagecomponents• Management ofsponsored street signs• Installation of vehicularcrossings on the publichighway• Management ofhighway structures• Management of trafficsignal installations• Environmental healthapplications• Management of streetlighting, illuminatedsigns and bollards• Inventory for unmeteredenergy suppliespayment reconciliation• Pavement Management• Waste collection• Gritting routesOnce the NSG becomeswidely available,applications for its usagewill include amongst othersemergency planning andemergency servicescommand and control,logistics, fleet managementrouting, service deliveryand strategic routeplanning.LocatingpropertiesMaintaining a comprehensiveand high standard for namingstreets and numbering ornaming properties is importantfor the identification ofproperty as it allows:• Emergency services to find aproperty quickly (delays cancost lives and money)• Mail to be deliveredefficiently• Visitors to find where theywant to go• Reliable delivery of servicesand products• Records of service providersto be kept in an effectivemannerThe National StreetGazetteerThe definitive dataset forstreet works andhighways maintenancewww.thensg.org.uk