What is this piece of equipment you see on the streets around Williston? Is it a camera? Why would that be placed there?

Photo By Scott Haugen
Photo By Scott Haugen
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Traffic Camera

Lots of questions have popped up in the last few days as to what this is. It's a camera that measures traffic on roads in Williston. Many cities still use the old pressure tube readers, but Williston officials wanted a better way to get an accurate count. David Juma with Williston Public Works explained how the old pressure tube type measuring devices only measure volume only. Turns are not taken into consideration. This does not provide an accurate traffic count. The new camera is able to see left, right, and straight. It can cover all 4 corners of an intersection too. All of these improvements aid in tracking basic traffic movements and flow giving a much better traffic count.

Photo By Scott Haugen
Photo By Scott Haugen
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Traffic Camera 2

While Juma is quick to point out that the people he works with are good at their jobs, the city of Williston wants to be as responsible with city dollars as possible. By implementing this new camera-mounted traffic counter, the city does not have to use 2 man crews for 8 to 10 hours a day just counting cars. That is a huge savings to taxpayers. Then eliminate all the set-up time for the old readers, and we are saving more tax dollars. Win, win for all involved! So, when you're out on the streets of Williston, smile when you see this camera around town.

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