Many of us have seen the flash of a traffic camera. It happens after some jerk speeds through a red light and presumably signals they will be receiving a ticket in the mail soon enough.
But what about the spherical cameras?
The city has hundreds of cameras on street signs at major intersections throughout Vancouver and while they are monitoring traffic it's not entirely for the reasons you think.
The cameras are collecting traffic data which informs the city's transportation plans, neighbourhood traffic calming measures, and other management decisions.
However, the city also allows the public live access to the cameras through an interactive map so they can remain informed of traffic patterns and even provide input. Just click on the pin's location and select "traffic camera images."
Vancouver's Transportation Data Collection Program
Interestingly enough, the cameras don't record video, they record data and snapshots.
The data collected from traffic cams includes counts of cars, bikes, and pedestrians, speed averages, and the number of turns.
The city also conducts "panel surveys" where individuals are asked to record the trips they make on a given weekday. The trip data is used for the analysis of transportation trends and helps to track transportation goals.
All of the data is used to assist in the implementation of traffic and parking regulations, intersection upgrades, signal timing, and bus stop locations.
If you're ever in a car accident you can also request a traffic signal timing report based on the data. It includes details on the type of traffic signal at the intersection, traffic signal timing, and records of any maintenance done at or around the time of the accident.
