Gate City using traffic center to identify roads that need plowing
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - In recent years, the City of Pocatello has been using traffic cameras to identify which streets they need to send plows to.
Tom Kirkman, the deputy public works director for the City of Pocatello, and others have been very busy over the past week. According to the National Weather Service, parts of Pocatello have seen in excess of 5 inches of snow in the past 72 hours.
According to Kirkman, the traffic center was built to operate signals, but over the years they've seen the benefit of using it to aid with the city's snow removal process.
"Throughout town, we have cameras mounted on all of our signals and we're able to look at the traffic moving, as well as observe the condition of the roadways," Kirkman explained.
In addition to video, the city is using Bluetooth technology to track travel times around the city. Kirkman said that data is used to "set a benchmark" for snow removal progress.
"If we have a normal travel time in a certain corridor of X minutes and on a snowy day we go up to one minute higher, we know that we need to do a little bit better in that area," he said. "If we're down to a 15-second delta, we know we must have done a pretty good job."
Working closely with the National Weather Service, street department officials take note of weather briefings and plan ahead for big storms, pretreating roads if deemed necessary.
The Gate City is separated into about 10 snow routes and this "bird's-eye view" of the city gives snow removal supervisors the information they need to properly allocate resources.
Pocatello has had a traffic center, "to a certain degree," for 10-15 years, but advancing technology and extra space with the new Garrett Way center have changed the game.
"We're doing real-time data collecting on signals, so the sky's just kinda been the limit on what we're chasing for data-wise," Kirkman explained.
If you see a road you believe needs some street department attention, it is recommended that you call them directly.
