County Installs Electronic Eyes at SPF Intersections

Drivers who get impatient waiting for red lights to turn green (and really, who doesn’t?) may soon have reason to feel better when they cruise down Terrill Road in Fanwood, Scotch Plains and Plainfield. 

New traffic signals equipped with overhead cameras to monitor traffic-flow and adjust the timing of the lights are being installed at seven intersections along the Terrill Road corridor, stretching from the intersection of Raritan Road and Martine Avenue in Scotch Plains to the intersection of Terrill Road and East Front Street in Fanwood and Plainfield.

The project, which is being overseen by Union County, is fully funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to county spokesman Sebastian D’Elia.

The cameras sit about three feet above the new traffic signals and can detect vehicles as they approach the intersection. As each additional vehicle enters the defined zone within the camera’s field of vision, the camera will send a signal to the stoplight controller, which manages the timing of the traffic lights. The cameras will not be used to issue tickets to those who run red lights or for other law enforcement purposes, D'Elia said.

“The signals along Terrill Road had not been upgraded in recent years and were in need of [one],” he stated.

The cameras will always be operating, but the timing of each traffic signal will only be adjusted periodically, not in real-time, D’Elia said. Once average traffic counts are calculated, the timing of the traffic lights will remain constant, unless significant changes in traffic patterns occur.

In addition to the installation of new traffic signals and cameras, the construction will also add several left-turn lanes, as well as left-turn arrows on Midway Avenue and on South Avenue.

The project is expected to be complete by Sept. 15.