D.C. Cameras Will Let Traffic Officers Know Where Problems Are

WASHINGTON -- Do you want to get where you need to go faster? So does the D.C. Department of Transportation.

Starting next year, those tiny electronic cameras that hang off light poles in the city will be able to coordinate with Traffic Control Officers at intersections, letting them know which routes are clogged and which roads are free.

"We use these cameras for our day-to-day operations, our normal operations. We use it for snow operations. We come here and we can actually see progress. We use it in emergency situations -- if something is happening on the Mall -- if there is an event," says Emeka Moneme, director of DDOT.

"But this is now the beginning of our ITS program, initiating a real, robust, intelligent transportation system where we are using technology to help us manage the system."

The District's Traffic Control Officers currently fall under the guidance of the Department of Public Works, but in 2008, they will be transferred to control of DDOT.

The District currently has 150 traffic cameras set up at intersections and plans to add another 100 over the next 2 years. They do not record, but they can zoom in and read things such as license plates.

Other cities around the country, such as New York and Cincinnati, have similar traffic systems.

Moneme says he hopes the changes "will really take us to the top tier in terms of traffic management centers."

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