Arlington staff recently announced that the Stillaguamish Tribe is funding the purchase of a $6,685 Scout mobile video unit to collect information on traffic and, specifically, potential pedestrian impacts.
Multiple other government transportation agencies, including the Washington State Department of Transportation, also own the product, which is made by Miovision, a company based in Ontario, Canada. The unit can be mounted to a power pole. A telescopic arm lifts the camera up to 21 feet to capture a bird’s eye view of a roadway.
The video-based tool is helpful when other mounted cameras or tube counters — the rope-like sensors placed over roadways to count cars and measure speed — are not enough. For example, WSDOT recently used a unit to see if there was a problem with lane jumping at the intersection of Highways 9 and 530 after receiving a complaint, according to Arlington city staff.
Taking video will be especially helpful in counting “near misses” between vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles and buses. Public Works staff said the goal is to help guide long-term planning and provide evidence for funding requests submitted to the City Council.
Many of the city roads that have the highest incidence of traffic and pedestrian conflicts are within the Tribe’s National Tribal Transportation Facilities Inventory.
One area the city likely will use the video system is on Smokey Point Boulevard near 35th Avenue NE, by the Stillaguamish Senior Center.
In each case, the city engineer would review footage at high speed, take note of any conflicts and see if corrections to signage or pavement markings may be needed.
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