Picture This!
What's new this week in transportation

New traffic cameras and MyCommute
Web page help ease congestion

SecureEye camera mounted at Woodinville-Duvall Road at Avondale (left) [enlarged view: 122 KB] and the view from the camera via the MyCommute Web page [68 KB] (right).

http://www.metrokc.gov/mycommute/
[68 KB]

• Woodinville-Duvall Road at Avondale Road
• Woodinville-Duvall Road at West Snoqualmie Valley Road - facing south
• Woodinville-Duvall Road at West Snoqualmie Valley Road - facing east
• Petrovitsky Road at 140th Avenue Southeast
• Petrovitsky Road/Carr Road at State Route 515 (Benson Road)
• Southeast 208th Street at State Route 515 (Benson Road)

Three more cameras are set for hookup in the near future:

• 100th Avenue Northeast at Juanita-Woodinville Way
• 100th Avenue Northeast at Northeast 132nd Street
• Petrovitsky Road at 116th Avenue Southeast

The camera intersections were chosen for their high traffic volumes and congestion during the morning and afternoon commutes, and their significance as regional arterial corridors. Four are also the sites for upcoming road improvements, so that when work gets under way motorists can check in advance for any construction-related backups:

• The Woodinville-Duvall Road at Avondale is a principal arterial that moves 14,000 vehicles per day going from Duvall and south Snohomish County to Renton, Bellevue, Redmond and parts of Seattle. The two-lane intersection will be widened next spring to allow additional turn lanes, through lanes, sidewalks and bike lanes.

• Petrovitsky Road at 140th Avenue Southeast is the intersection of two major arterials on the Soos Creek Plateau and handles 45,000 vehicles per day. It is classified as a high-accident location. It is scheduled in 2005 for dual left-turn lanes and a right turn from Petrovitsky to both legs of 140th and from 140th to Petrovitsky.

• Petrovitsky Road/Carr Road at SR 515 (Benson Road) is being studied for widening improvements to address traffic from existing and future development on the North Soos Creek Plateau.

• Southeast 208th Street at State Route 515 (Benson Road) will get a new traffic signal, new left lanes at 105th Place Southeast and work to reduce the vertical curve west of 105th.

Without having costly fiber-optic cables already in place to these suburban locations, King County's new traffic cams are among the first in the nation to use existing DSL phone lines to carry signals back to the county's web servers.

The new cameras, part of the emerging field known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), are tools for both traffic management and for advance traveler information. The images will be monitored by Metro Transit and also by a new King County Traffic Control Center, scheduled for completion late this year on the second floor of the King Street Center building at Second Avenue South and South Jackson Street. Technicians will be able to monitor real-time traffic conditions and can intervene quickly to deal with emerging problems. They will be able to adjust signal timings, dispatch police, fighters and ambulances when needed, and advise motorists through emerging technologies. Such high-tech traffic management will mean shorter delays in travel time and safer roadways.

Citizens and commercial truckers will be able to see traffic conditions before leaving, giving them a chance to avoid congested areas and plan alternate routes.

The primary use of the traffic cameras is for traffic management and advance traveler information, not law enforcement or surveillance. King County engineers may occasionally record video feeds for traffic studies, but as a matter of policy no regular recordings will be made nor any tapes maintained. The cameras are not able to read license plates nor do they have speed sensors.

To access the traffic cameras, you need only a dial-up Internet connection or better, and either of the industry standard Web browsers, Internet Explorer 4.x or Netscape 4.x. The camera images refresh automatically, depending on the user's connection speed.

The traffic cams and MyCommute Web page will be evaluated after a three-month pilot period. Users can take part in the evaluation by filling out an online survey on the MyCommute page. Future camera installations planned for 2002 and 2003 include six new cameras on Northeast 124th Street in Kirkland and 12 cameras on the TransValley Corridor in south county.

Related links

King County's MyCommute webpage [68 KB]
MyCommute online survey
"Cameras help Woodinville commuters," Eastside Journal, May 9, 2001
"Seattle's traffic is 2nd-worst: City trails only L.A. in study ," Seattle Times, May 8, 2001
"Picture lots of traffic and road improvements," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 8, 2001
"Traffic cameras help commute - Cameras trained on 3 South County main intersections," South County Journal, May 8, 2001
"New Traffic Cams Offer New Help For Commuters," KOMO 4 News, May 7, 2001
"New traffic cams aid King County commuters," KIRO 7 News, May 7, 2001

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