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What's new this week in transportation

First live streaming video of local traffic now online

Starting this week you can see this traffic move in real-time through the MyCommute Web page [68 KB]. For this demonstration two cameras near Kent provide streaming video, including this one at the Benson Road and Southeast 208th Street. When you visit the MyCommute site you will be prompted to download the "SEStream^TM" plug-in.

King County Executive Ron Sims this week unveiled a demonstration of the first live streaming video of local traffic that can be accessed from desktop computers and wireless handheld devices, as an enhancement to the county's MyCommute traffic camera Web site. The streaming video, together with the snapshot images already available, will help viewers better gauge the density and speed of traffic on the roadway. Executive Sims also announced that three new cameras have been added to the MyCommute site at <www.metrokc.gov/mycommute>.

"This demonstration is another way to make it easier for people to see the traffic in their community before they hit the road," said Sims. "Whether you check your desktop computer before leaving work or use one of the new wireless handheld devices, these streaming images can help you make informed decisions about how to get from one place to another."

See a streaming video of Executive Sims demonstrating the MyCommute Web site [requires RealPlayer plug-in] [transcript].

Sims helped launch the demonstration project at King County's booth at the Pacific Northwest Digital Government Summit 2001 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center at Pier 66. King County launched the MyCommute Web site as a pilot project with six cameras in May, but Sims announced the county now plans to keep all nine cameras operational on a continuing basis, with new camera locations added as funding becomes available.

While local TV stations are able to broadcast moving video from Washington state traffic cameras, only still images are available to the public online. King County's streaming video demonstration project, scheduled to run through the end of the year, is provided to King County at no cost or obligation. It was planned and implemented by SecureEye, Inc. [external link], a Seattle firm heading a consortium of leading technology companies to offer streaming video and other advance traveler information features to transportation agencies nationwide:

SecureEye is providing its new streaming video technology, known as "SEStream^TM", which sends low-bandwidth, high-performance video transmission over public networks.

Compaq [external link] is providing fully redundant Web server hardware.

Internap [external link] of Seattle is delivering a high-speed Internet connection to the Web servers, and

Telenisus [external link] is providing the infrastructure and physical location for the servers with the highest-rated security platform available.

The technology provides 30 seconds of streaming video from cameras at two locations:

Petrovitsky Road/Carr Road at State Route 515 (Benson Road)
Southeast 208th Street at State Route 515 (Benson Road).

The three new cameras providing snapshot images of traffic are at:

Petrovitsky Road at 116th Avenue Southeast
100th Avenue Northeast at Juanita-Woodinville Way
100th Avenue Northeast at Northeast 132nd Street (wireless connection).

The first two cameras above, like the six already online, are among the first in the region to use DSL / ISDN phone lines to carry signals back to the county's Web servers, avoiding the need to lay prohibitively costly fiber-optic cables. The third camera, at 100th Avenue Northeast at Northeast 132nd Street, uses a special wireless Aironet LAN device to send its traffic images back to the Internet connection at the 100th and Juanita-Woodinville camera a half-mile away. The other six cameras are at:

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).

To access the traffic cameras, users 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 (At this time the streaming video demo is not compatible with Netscape 6.0 and higher). The camera images refresh automatically, depending on the user's connection speed. To see the streaming video, users will also be prompted to download a SecureEye "SE Player Control" plug-in.

MyCommute, like the MyBus Web site that provides real-time Metro bus departure information at <mybus.org>, are part of the emerging field known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). They are tools not only for real-time traveler information but also for traffic and incident management. The MyCommute images are monitored by Metro Transit for routing and scheduling decisions, and will also be used by a new King County Traffic Control Center, scheduled for completion this winter on the second floor of the King Street Center building at Second Avenue South and South Jackson Street. Engineers and 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, firefighters 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.

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

Users can help evaluate the site by filling out an online survey form on the MyCommute page.

Picture This! What's new this week in transportation

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Picture This!
What's new this week in transportation