cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
BY CHELSEA JENSEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY
Big Brother is watching — but he is supposed to be helping.
Traffic in Kona can often get snarled as commuters make their way about the town’s relatively few thoroughfares. However, the Hawaii County Department of Public Works is keeping tabs on intersections and making real-time changes to get people to where they need to go quicker, said Ron Thiel, division head of the department’s Traffic Division.
“These cameras allow us to see from our (Hilo) command post just what traffic is doing and what we need to do or adjust” to alleviate congestion, Thiel said Thursday. “We do get calls, and we do try to do some switching to help.”
The division is responsible for operating traffic signals at 105 intersections islandwide, Thiel said. Of those, 43 are state intersections under the division’s auspices.
All traffic signals have installed cameras to detect approaching traffic and to trigger a light change for emergency vehicles, he said. In addition, 20 of the intersections are also outfitted with cameras capable of providing low-resolution video of current traffic to the department’s command post in Hilo, he added.
The 20 cameras, capable of providing a 360-degree view, are moved often to various intersections around the island. Currently, about a dozen are stationed in Kona, primarily along Queen Kaahumanu and Kuakini highways, he said. Only the division has access to the cameras, he added.
From the Hilo command post, traffic division staff is able to keep tabs on current traffic at the intersections outfitted with cameras, he said. Some staff also have laptops to access the cameras outside of normal work hours, which are from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There is currently no staff in West Hawaii, but Thiel said despite restrictions on hiring he is working to get three employees in Captain Cook.
Although staff may not be watching the cameras at all times, should a complaint come in from the public or police the division will react. Within two to three minutes of assessing traffic and entering changes, traffic signals reflect the difference, Thiel said.
Recent use of the cameras to alleviate traffic issues in the Kona area include lane closures made on Palani Road near Henry Street and timing changes at the Lako Street and Kuakini Highway intersection, which in recent weeks had left northbound traffic backed up to the highway’s intersection with Kamehameha III Road in Keauhou, he said.
At Lako, the addition of a left turn arrow from Lako Street to the highway resulted in the back up and the division’s staff was able to use the cameras to determine the best timing to reduce congestion, he said. Some tweaking to the intersection remains ongoing.
Thiel also hopes to secure funding to install additional permanent cameras atop intersections along Queen Kaahumanu Highway when construction work begins to widen the highway between Kealakehe Parkway and Keahole Airport Road. State Department of Transportation Director Glenn Okimoto estimated in December that work would begin by April.
The low-resolution cameras, which came into operation around 2010, each cost around $3,000, Thiel said. Depending on an intersection’s location, the monthly cost to keep one of the cameras connected to the county’s command post via wireless or cable is either $40 or $100, he said. Funding is derived from the state Highway Fund, which includes revenues from fuel, weight and other taxes, not the county’s General Fund.
The cameras are never used for enforcement purposes and the division does not record what the cameras capture, Thiel said. In fact, he said, the cameras’ low resolution doesn’t even allow those in the command post to identify a person or make out a license plate.
“We are trying to get across to people who may think we are infringing on their rights if we can see them that we can’t ID them because it’s just such a low resolution,” he said. “We don’t want to infringe upon rights, and it is not intended for police or any criminal investigations.”
And, future plans to upgrade the system by connecting the cameras to a fiber optic system will not change the division’s stance on not using the cameras for anything other than monitoring traffic, he said. Thiel is currently working on a federal grant for about $7.5 million that would cover the cost of installing a fiber optic system that would allow for better imagery and control. Fiber optics would also open doors to providing motorists with real-time advisories on message boards.
The cameras also differ from surveillance camera systems installed in the downtown areas of Kailua-Kona, Hilo and Pahoa funded by a $500,000 Hawaii Tourism Authority grant, said Hawaii Police Department Technical Services Maj. Larry Weber.
Those cameras, which focus only on public areas, do record and can be used as evidence in criminal prosecutions, he said. The video surveillance is also accessible to officers, but not constantly monitored, at the Kona, Hilo and Pahoa police stations.
For more information on the department’s Traffic Division, visit dpw.co.hawaii.hi.us/traffic or call 961-8341. Reports on traffic signals can be submitted via the division’s website.
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com