New cameras in Waco will help city monitor traffic during The Great American Eclipse
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Mobile security camera towers are starting to pop up around Waco. City officials told KWTX that these cameras will help monitor traffic on the day of The Great American Eclipse.
The City of Waco tapped into funds reserved for large-scale events to rent these mobile security camera towers. There are a total of 21 of them located around major roadways, a tool to assist in the event of an emergency.
”We’re about 20 days out from the eclipse and everything we’re doing is in preparation for that,” assistant city manager Ryan Holt said.
These solar-powered stations around town all have a combination of pan-tilt cameras and stationary cameras.
“We’ll use a couple of different technologies to get that information back to the office so we can see those the day of the eclipse,” Holt said.
After the moment of totality the cameras will allow the city to monitor traffic patterns and determine whether to suggest alternative routes for drivers.
”That will allow us to have maximum visibility on the day of the eclipse as far as what traffic is doing and things we can do to facilitate traffic movement,” Holt said.
The city anticipates anywhere from 40,000 to 200,000 people coming in just for the eclipse.
”We’ll be looking as the weekend before the eclipse goes to find out if the estimates for visitors are accurate,” Holt said.
The city found that when Midwest and Northwest cities were in the path of totality they saw major traffic issues.
“Given they didn’t have as robust roadways as we do, they saw significant road congestion on their roadways,” Holt said.
Regardless of whether or not these issues come to fruition in Waco, the city said safety remains its number one priority.
”This council has said numerous times that they’re committed to public safety for our residents as well as our visitors,” Holt said.
The City of Waco added that more law enforcement will be on hand the day of the eclipse, just in case of an emergency.
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