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Neighborhood Report

Traffic cameras help locate trouble spots

The images are used to check on signal timing, traffic flow and patterns.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published August 4, 2006

It's huge.

It towers over you.

And it's watching you.

But, really, it's nothing to worry about.

If you were wondering about that new charcoal-colored steel pole on the northwest corner of W Kennedy Boulevard and S Howard Avenue, wonder no longer.

Yes, it's a camera. No, it's not looking for red-light runners, drunken drivers or Osama bin Laden.

It's just recording traffic patterns, said Michael Scanlon, city traffic design engineer.

And it's one of about two dozen stationed at major intersections throughout the city. Some are on poles; others, on sides of buildings.

"We use them to monitor traffic, looking for accidents, helping with signal timings," Scanlon said.

"It's just information for my staff. We don't record any of it. We don't use them to monitor behavior."

The poles, which the city has erected over the past several years, allow engineers to monitor how traffic flows.

Other intersections with traffic cameras include Dale Mabry Highway at Kennedy, Columbus Drive and Gandy Boulevard, Busch Boulevard at Nebraska and Florida avenues, and Hillsborough Avenue at Dale Mabry and Himes Avenue.

"It's amazing how much we learn when we put a camera in," Scanlon said.

"It really helps us when we're changing the traffic signal timing and to see when traffic's backing up."

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 226-3431.

[Last modified August 2, 2006, 13:00:12]