You’ve asked why we don’t just relocate the cameras in the highway median or in other areas where trees would not obscure the view. The locations for the new cameras were also carefully chosen to provide for the most efficient camera operations. Those locations take into account the availability of supporting hardware, adequate access for camera maintenance, and the length of the corridor covered at each location. It’s important that the cameras have a full 360 degree clear line of sight to operate properly. 

You’ve asked why we are installing cameras instead of fixing bridges or roads. It’s important that you know that one is not sacrificing the other, and here’s why. The funding for the camera installation came from a 2011 Federal TIGER III Grant, which was actively sought in partnership with Joint Base Lewis-McChord and neighboring jurisdictions to address highway congestion by improving traffic operations. This grant was not available for maintenance and preservation needs, so the cameras are not being installed at the sacrifice of other funded work within WSDOT. The total grant funding came to $15,000,000. More information about the awarded grant can be found on the following linked pdf:
http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/TIGER_2011_AWARD.pdf. 

You’ve said that we just have too many people and too few roads, and you don’t see how cameras will help reduce congestion. WSDOT agrees with you that we are at a critical service level on many of our state’s highways. We also know that we can’t build our way out of congestion. So what can we do? We can maximize the effectiveness of our existing highway system. We do that by installing intelligent transportation devices, and cameras are only one piece of that puzzle. 

Cameras are especially good at helping first responders like the State Patrol and local fire jurisdictions to respond more quickly to, and to clear, roadway incidents. Much of our traffic congestion (some say up to 50%) is caused from lane closures caused by collisions. Anything we can do to increase response times goes a long way in reducing overall congestion. Just as important, the new cameras will support efficient operations of 17 new ramp meters being installed within the corridor. The cameras will allow WSDOT staff to control ramp meter rates during heavy traffic, which will help traffic move better along the mainline highway and reduce collisions at merge points (that collision effect again). Cameras also provide real time traffic information to the public and media through our web pages.

Along with the cameras and ramp meters, WSDOT will also install variable message signs, travel time signs and data stations. All of these devices help WSDOT communicate with you, the driver, so you can make informed decisions about your travel plans. 

WSDOT has several web pages that discuss the improvements that are being made for the I-5 JBLM corridor. The active construction project that involves installing the seven new closed circuit TV cameras can be found here:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/sr510congestmgmt/

More information about the benefits of ITS devices can be found here:  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/ITS/

We understand that you do not want trees to be cut down. We recognize that trees improve our standard of living and help define the Pacific Northwest. We are removing only necessary trees, and we are replanting 500 trees after the construction project is complete. The trees will be planted at two locations, the I-5/Marvin Road area in Lacey and the I-5/DuPont Steilacoom Road in DuPont. 

Thank you for your comments and understanding.

By guest blogger Kelly Stowe

Back in April 2008, WSDOT staff found a friend in Drake Thomas. Drake, who is autistic, was 10 years old, and fascinated by the WSDOT traffic cameras and soothing background music that played during TV Tacoma 12’s “Traffic Watch program.” The program flashed live images of WSDOT traffic cameras focused on I-5, SR 16 and SR 512.

Drake would watch the show daily, memorizing the order in which the camera images were shown. If something was off or a camera image was out, he would ask his parents to call TV Tacoma or WSDOT. He even built his own highway system at home by making traffic cameras with toothpicks, straws, and clay. When WSDOT heard about Drake’s passion for traffic cameras, he was invited to check out the Olympic Region Traffic Management Center in Parkland where he could meet the people who controlled the cameras he watched each morning on Channel 12.

On the day of his visit, Drake got a lesson about all the inter-workings of the TMC by Rich Langlois, Traffic Safety Systems Operator, and was even allowed to operate the cameras where he adjusted the angles and zoomed in and out.  KOMO TV also came along for his visit. (See the KOMO segment of Drake’s visit here.)

Drake was in camera-loving heaven and proclaimed the day, “The most special day of my life.”

So almost five years later when WSDOT staff asked if Drake was interested in a return visit, he jumped at the chance. It was almost as time had stood still when Drake entered the TMC, except of course the seemingly 10 feet the now 15-year-old had grown.

Drake walked in and his old friend, Rich Langlois, was right there waiting to put him to work. Drake sat down at a computer that is used to move the cameras – and that’s when a call came in over the Washington State Patrol scanner which is monitored by TMC staff, that there was a disabled car blocking a lane on eastbound SR 512 at I-5. Rich said to Drake, “Well, you better find it.”

As if he had been working at the TMC for the past five years, Drake expertly found the right camera and moved it around until the disabled vehicle was in sight.

Drake spent the next two hours moving the cameras and talking to Rich about how he likes high school, enjoys being a part of the NAVY ROTC, and what he needs to do so he can work at the TMC when he graduates.

Rich’s explanation on what Drake needed to one day become a TMC employee was pretty cut and dry, “Stay in school and don’t do drugs.”

Drake’s mom, Janice, and dad, Bob, both accompanied him on his visit. His mom explained that when Drake arrived that day at the TMC he announced, “Today is the second best day of my life!”

The way people are using the Internet is shifting: Cellphones are getting smarter, tablets are more easily accessible and all of these devices are finding their way into more hands as Internet access becomes more affordable. We’re paying close attention to this and are seeing it reflected in our own Web statistics.

Wait, a transportation agency that focuses on state highways and ferries is worried about how people use the Internet? Why yes, we are!  

Here's what we’ve seen:

• The number of people who are accessing our website on a daily basis has increased since the same time last year, from 78,000 unique visitors a day in 2011 to nearly 90,000 a day in 2012.
• Mobile device usage is also surging. Compared to the same time last year (January-June), the number of mobile devices visiting our website has gone from 4.5 million visits to 8.7 million visits.
• We now have more than 200,000 downloads of our iPhone and Android mobile app.

Example of one of the traffic camera images that gets a lot of use during a winter storm.

So why pay attention to this? During the snowstorm on Jan. 17, 2012, we saw more than 800,000 people access our website. That's nearly 12 percent of Washington’s population. What happens if that grows? How can we best position ourselves to handle that amount of traffic, or higher, again?

Building the infrastructure that would be needed to handle these infrequent weather spikes just isn't a good use of taxpayer dollars. Over the years, we've made numerous improvements so that we can function during those types of bad weather days. However, to ensure the information that you need to make informed travel decisions is available whenever and wherever you need it, we need to think outside the box. 

Instead of buying a whole farm of computer servers to accommodate the amount of requests for information we might get during one crazy storm, we will be testing cloud technology.  Essentially, we’re renting the ability to handle that spike in requests so that you can make travel decisions in an emergency.

What is cloud technology? Think of it this way – if we use just one computer to provide information, it can only handle so many simultaneous requests. If instead, we put our camera images to a location that has access to a really big server we can ensure the images you want to see will be available when you need it.

So what does this mean to you? On Wednesday, Oct. 10, and Thursday, Oct. 11, we are shifting all of the traffic camera images from our servers to the cloud to test our ability to make this change.  Testing this now means we’ll be ready when that crazy weather or emergency situation causes people to immediately go to our website to see what is happening.  On a more technical note, for those of you who have linked to the images, you won’t notice a difference; the urls will remain the same.

You may have to be patient with us Wednesday and Thursday, but we're crossing our fingers that you won't notice a thing.  If, however, you do see something unusual, be sure to let us know.

Our traffic cameras have kind of been hot news in recent months. We’ve brought many new cameras online along I-5 in Tacoma and Everett, and announced many more will go live later this year near Bellingham. While it’s exciting news in many respects, we’ve also received a fair amount of criticism.

People wonder where we’re getting the money for all these cameras, and want to know how we can justify spending it this way during such hard economic times.

The most basic and simple response to part about where the money comes from is that there are state and federal gas taxes that generate revenue every day specifically for transportation improvements. But that’s probably not answer you’re looking for. The real story is a little more complicated.

If we step back for a moment and take a big-picture look at our highway improvements, we have to realize that we can’t build our way out of congestion. It’s just not financially feasible on a number of fronts. It’s unaffordable from a real estate perspective, environmental perspective, construction perspective, and even a long-term maintenance perspective - especially when our budget is declining just like everyone else’s.

Knowing that we can’t afford to build our way out of congestion, we have to ask ourselves, “What can we do to make better use of the existing roads and lanes we already have?” One of the strategies we believe that has some serious merit is making better use of information technology. That’s where the cameras come in.

These cameras are vital to us, to the State Patrol troopers who respond to collisions, and to the traffic reporters who report what’s happening on the roads every day.

They give our maintenance crews, fire departments and law enforcement personnel the tools they need to respond to incidents as quickly and efficiently as possible. We can better coordinate our response and get the roadway open faster.

The cameras also keep drivers informed so they can avoid delays. Drivers can check the cameras and travel times to get a much clearer picture of how I-5 is looking before they leave their homes or offices.

Traffic cameras are just the tip of the iceberg, too. They’re part of a much greater, more expansive network and plan to bring better, more reliable travel information to drivers.

Yes, the traffic technology is expensive, but it costs a mere fraction of what we would spend to try and build our way out of congestion. Traffic cameras are just one way we’re using our existing highway infrastructure more effectively and efficiently.

How do you know what your commute is going to be like? If you’re like a lot of people, you might check out one of our many traffic cameras. We have several hundred cameras statewide showing road conditions along a variety of big interstates and smaller state highways. Add to that our data loops that give you a color-coded clue of whether traffic is stop-and-go (black) or free-flowing (green), and our travel alerts page, and drivers can get a pretty good idea of what to expect on the road before they ever get in the car.

But some stretches of highway are what we call our blind spots. With no cameras and no data loops, the only way to know what traffic is like is to be there. Or have ESP. And on the highways, the unexpected is rarely good news.

Fortunately for drivers, we’ve recently added to our arsenal of cameras. In February, we brought 18 new cameras online between Everett and Arlington and hooked up one new camera to show conditions at the I-90/SR 18 interchange. But wait, there’s more: Later this month, seven new cameras in Pierce and Thurston counties will give drivers a bird’s-eye view of traffic between Lacey and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. And by June, drivers in southern Thurston County can use six new cameras to check their commute, too.

If you’re adding it all up, that’s 32 brand spankin’ new cameras covering a whopping 36 miles of highway: 16 miles in northern Snohomish County, one new mile along I-90 in North Bend, 11 miles in Pierce County and eight in Thurston County.  Goodbye blind spots, hello travel planning.

If you’re one of those people who’s more curious about how long your commute will take – in minutes rather than black and red dots on a map – you’re in luck, too. Travel times from Tacoma to Olympia (and vice versa) will start appearing Monday, March 12, on our Tacoma and Olympia traffic pages. Add that to the travel times already available on the Seattle Traffic page, and drivers can get a pretty good estimate of how long it will take to travel from Seattle and points north to Tacoma and points south. All with the click of a button (or two).

So the next time you head out for a road trip, or just hit the highway for your morning or evening commute, make sure to check out our new travel times and cameras. You might just save yourself some time (and frustration) now that you can know more before you go.