This isn't Big Brother
Waynesboro goes high tech to record city's traffic flow

Brad Zinn / newsleader.com | April 24 2006

See that futuristic, tube-shaped video camera? The one on the pole, above the street and pointed down at the road? Don't flatter yourself, Big Brother isn't tracking your movements. It's a modern upgrade to the science of traffic flow.

In Waynesboro, these mounted cameras are popping up with more on the way. Problem is, they don't have anyone assigned to coordinate the growing maze of traffic lights.

In the not-so-old days long rectangular wires were planted underneath the pavement, and most intersections still use this design. When a car reaches the intersection the wires capture its mass, sending a signal to a large metal utility box nearby. Inside the box are load switches, relays, yards of colored wire and other devices that "talk" to the light and give it orders to change color. A major drawback is that when something goes wrong with the wire, the street has to be ripped up to get to the root of the problem. The process usually takes all day.

In the past few years, cameras have started appearing atop mast arms hanging over the street. Rosser Avenue, Lew DeWitt Boulevard, Main Street and Delphine Avenue all have them. Not to worry, nobody is recording and charting your driving habits — it's a closed system. Besides, the cameras can't pick up license plate numbers.

"There are no enforcement cameras," City Manager Doug Walker said.

The camera's job is to "paint" digital rectangles on the intersection, eliminating the wire underneath the road. When a car pulls up and into the digital zone, the information goes to a nearby box that's equipped with a computer, video processor and monitor, usually turned off except when someone needs to draw the digital markings. Traffic lights are set with minimum and maximum wait times. If fog floats in, the cameras detect it. The system, which costs about $20,000 per four-way intersection, then goes into an automatic timing mode until the fog lifts.

And when a camera goes down, roads no longer have to be torn up to fix the problem — a simple camera replacement will do. "In the long run, it's a lot more cost-effective," said Bert Smith, assistant superintendent of public works operations.

Nonetheless, every camera and old wire loop system is still a workhorse. "They don't sleep, they don't take breaks. They have to work all the time," Walker said. When they don't, delays occur along with "legitimate safety concerns," he said.

With 27 signalized intersections — 11 of them mounted with cameras and possibly five more coming next year — Walker has asked City Council for a certified signal technician in the proposed 2006-07 budget, a $52,000 position. Duties will include preventive maintenance, as well as studying traffic flow and tweaking traffic light coordination.

Add the 1,200 residential plots planned in the city, new retail already in place with more to come, and Waynesboro could see an additional 30,000 vehicle trips per day on local roads. The traffic nightmare could begin within six years, according to city estimates. Without a signal tech to oversee the growth of traffic lights, Walker said, "We will have more frequent downtimes of signals" and longer repair times.

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