Cameras give new perspective on prov. hwys

The Highway Hotline is a service that is extensively used by residents in Saskatchewan.

The ministry of highways and infrastructure is always looking for ways to improve not only the information that’s available on the Highway Hotline website but the manner in which they provide that information, according to Doug Wakabayashi, assistant director of communications for the ministry

“Over the last numbers of years we’ve done things like expand our social media presence and use of social media. We’ve made information about the ferries in the province more readily available … and we’ve added links to things like information about provincial and national parks and border crossing as well,” Wakabayashi said.

He said the big thing over the last couple of years was the introduction of highway cameras and streaming video from those cameras.

There are 10 cameras in total around the province right now. 

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In the Prince Albert area cameras are located at MacDowall, St. Louis and Weyakwin.

“In addition to the text information that’s available on the hotline, [the cameras] provide visual information to motorists as well,” he said.

The way the ministry goes about adding cameras to highways is dependent on where construction is taking place.

“We’re looking for opportunities where we can add them in conjunction with major construction projects, that way there are some cost efficiencies we can capture by doing the work at the same time,” he explained.

He said they are just starting to roll out their plans for the next construction season and at that point the ministry will determine if more cameras will be added north of Prince Albert.

The process of putting the camera up itself doesn’t take that long, but there is some work around different contractors that need to be co-ordinated.

“For example, the cameras are mounted on towers that have to be sunk into the ground. And the other things to is we need utilities so we try to locate them close to existing utilities but sometimes power needs to be run as well,” Wakabayashi explained.

One of the biggest expenses when it comes to the cameras is installing the utilities for the towers, “because the towers we put them on we want something that doesn’t sway in the wind, so that motorists can get a good image even when it’s windy,” said Wakabayashi.

The cost of a camera to be installed is about $25,000.

“The cameras have some technology in them, there’s a feature on them where if there’s a problem they can reboot themselves. In addition they have redundant power supplies, so there’s both hardwire power, solar and things like that.”  

The responses the ministry has received from areas where cameras have been installed have been positive for the most part. 

“[The cameras] are one piece in the whole mix of how we provide information to the public and they do provide a picture of what’s happening on the roads,” Wakabayashi said.

He said with things like blizzards conditions, fog and the night the visibility of the cameras is obscured, “One of the most challenging conditions we face on the roads is black ice and that’s isn’t always readily apparent on the cameras, so for the most part the feedback is positive, there are a few drawbacks as well though.”

When asked if the ministry is looking into technology that can detect things like black ice Wakabayashi said they look at any way they can better provide both information and how to present that information.

“There are some things that we might consider adding to the Hotline in the future, course that has to be balanced against cost and other priorities in the provincial transportation system as well, in terms of how we operate and maintain the highways.”

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid