Digital cameras to monitor traffic flow at busy junctions

Digital cameras to monitor traffic flow at busy junctions
The Hindu

Surveillance system installed at GPO Circle and on Airport Road

# The cameras will help spot illegal parking, breakdown of vehicles and pedestrian movement
# It will also help in monitoring working of traffic police personnel
# 25 places identified for installing the equipment
# Traffic police plan to have an engineering cell of their own

Bangalore: Big Brother is watching you. Not yet all over the city, but at two important road junctions.

Concealed video cameras of the advanced digital type have been installed at the Coffee Board Junction where traffic from Raj Bhavan Road and General Post Office converge with those coming from Vidhana Soudha and High Court and those going towards Chowdaiah Road and Sankey Road and points beyond.

The other cameras have been installed on Airport Road opposite Manipal Hospital. Besides traffic flowing on either direction, some towards Marathahalli and Whitefield and the Outer Ring Road, vehicles are also allowed to take a turn here to enter the hospital. The traffic police have named this system Traffic Movement Surveillance Cameras, which help them monitor traffic flow or any hold-ups on a real time basis. Each camera will cost around Rs. 2 lakh and the traffic police have ordered 25 such cameras.

"These cameras will help us manage traffic flow better, especially on the busy Airport Road and we can also spot any illegal parking, including parking on pavements, breakdowns on any one lane and pedestrian movements," said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.N. Reddi.

The surveillance cameras will supplement the cameras already in use at different locations to spot violations such as jumping red signal lights and overspeeding. "We can also command the cameras to zoom in on the traffic police personnel on duty and observe if they are taking steps to clear any traffic snarls as soon they happen. The control room in my office will monitor the camera feedback. For the four weeks that we have used the digital cameras, we have found good results... this of course is just a trial," he said.

The traffic police have identified 25 places for the cameras to be located and linked to a central command centre, which will monitor the image feedback and give directions for corrective steps to the police teams at the locations. Over the next three months, all 25 cameras are expected to be installed and in regular use by the police.

The traffic police reportedly plan to have an engineering cell of their own to look after minor engineering works to improve road conditions for smoother and safer flow of traffic.