Ever wonder what the cameras in some of the intersections throughout Gilroy are for?
The dozens of cameras next to, or on top of, certain traffic signals are not for surveillance, according to City Transportation Engineer Henry Servin. They’re traffic detection cameras tied into the grid to make travel easier for drivers, pedestrians and bikers.
The City began installing the cameras in 2010 at a cost of $1,800 each – including parts and labor – to replace older traffic detection technology.
“In the old days, we used to do the magnetic loop detectors cut into the asphalt on the ground,” Servin said. “Those tend to be problematic over time because when you repave your streets you destroy the loop and have to redo it. The video cameras detect a car, but the beauty of them, is the computer software will recognize that people need to cross as well.”
Those older loop-based detectors are more expensive too, he said, ringing in at roughly $2,500 for the unit, parts and installation.
“It’s actually a savings for the City,” Servin said, explaining that the cameras are “a much better technology” because they can prolong a green light if a driver is approaching an intersection.
Rather than expecting a driver to slam on the brakes or step on the gas to get through a yellow light, Servin said the traffic detection cameras can tell who – and what – is approaching.
“If you go along Santa Teresa Boulevard and Sunrise Drive for example, those use video detection now,” Servin said, adding that he didn’t have an exact count of how many newer cameras are powered on within Gilroy. “But again, they can’t be used for surveillance or anything like that; they’re just for traffic.”
Police surveillance in downtown Gilroy
The Gilroy Police Department maintains and monitors three surveillance cameras across the Downtown Corridor along Monterey Street, between Fourth and Sixth streets.
GPD Capt. Jim Gillo explained that by the start of next year, authorities are expecting the installation of three additional surveillance cameras along the corridor.
“Realistically I’m hoping by January we have the total project completed, but it just depends on how things go,” Gillio said, adding that a conduit will be installed below ground by the City’s Information Technology Department. “The whole idea of the downtown camera project, in general, was to create a safer place to be, to deter crime in the downtown area and to be able to capture what’s occurring and respond and apprehend suspects as they are committing the crimes.”
Gillio added that the cameras can serve as an investigative tool for law enforcement, since the videos can be pulled up and used as evidence.
