Officials hope webcams can help untangle local traffic

Published 6:47 am Monday, March 3, 2008

LYNNWOOD — There’s a new way to navigate the jungle of traffic across this congested suburban hub.

Anyone with access to the Web now can see views from traffic cameras at six locations in Lynnwood and use them to plan routes and timing. By the end of the year, cameras will be placed at nearly 40 locations and ultimately about 45, city officials said.

The Web site, www.ci. lynnwood.wa.us, has links to state Department of Transportation traffic cameras on I-5, to cameras at the Edmonds and Mukilteo ferry docks and in Seattle, Bellevue and King County. It also connects with public transit agencies.

Weekly updates on construction projects, the latest-available traffic counts at 48 intersections around the city, and answers to frequently asked questions also are available on the new Web site.

The city first began installing cameras atop utility poles about five years ago to partially control traffic lights at city intersections, replacing underground magnetic triggers. Then, it began installing others so city staff could view conditions on certain streets from City Hall.

The traffic-control cameras provide a limited, static, black-and-white view of intersections, while the others are in color and can be panned and zoomed with the push of a button at City Hall. If an intersection is backed up, staff can zoom the camera’s view up the street to see how far the line extends, said Les Rubstello, city transportation manager.

It is the view from these cameras that shows up on the Web. The view at City Hall is active and shows motion, while the pictures on the Web are static. But they automatically update every 30 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The DOT cameras are updated every 60 to 90 seconds, Rubstello said.

City cameras are installed at 168th Street SW and Highway 99, 176th Street SW and Highway 99, 188th Street SW and 44th Avenue W., 188th Street SW and 40th Avenue W., 208th Street SW and Highway 99, and 220th Street SW and 66th Avenue W. in Mountlake Terrace. State DOT cameras are located on I-5 at 164th Street SW, the I-405 interchange, 212th Street SW and 220th Street SW.

In addition to more view cameras, the city also plans to install about 70 more traffic-control cameras, bringing the total to about 200. The city is installing underground fiberoptic cables required to transmit images for the new cameras, city public works director Bill Franz said.

“We’re pretty much in the last third now of putting everything in the ground,” he said.

The city’s electronic traffic control system has cost about $7 million to date, with $4.2 million coming from federal grants, Rubstello said. The hardware for putting the images onto the Web costs less than $1,000, he said.

Activating the site was simply a matter of buying the hardware and setting up firewalls, Rubstello said.

Traffic counts, most of which are based on a slice of time, are available either by clicking on an intersection on a city map or on a dropdown menu. Business people and real estate agents frequently called the city for this information before the site became active, Rubstello said.

The city plans to upgrade the system within a year to provide more frequent traffic counts and other features.

“You’ll be able to ask it questions,” Rubstello said.

Bill Sheets is a reporter for the Herald in Everett.