Webcams intended to offer public information about traffic conditions in event of an emergency
By Damian Mann for Ashland.news
Video cameras to monitor evacuation routes in Ashland in the event of a fire will soon be installed at major streets.
The City Council decided Tuesday night to allow the purchase of at least five new cameras on key streets, after receiving a request from Ashland Mine Road residents, who only have one street to exit from their neighborhood in the north end of town.
“We don’t want to get trapped in a traffic jam and get burned in our cars,” said Morgan Strickland, an Ashland Mine resident.
Because of the request from Strickland and others, including Dave Dotterrer, a Jackson County commissioner and Ashland resident, city officials thought it would be a good idea to install additional cameras on other routes out of town, with the goal of uploading the video to Tripcheck.com, a statewide roadway status system, including links to webcams trained on roadways, operated by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Strickland said a camera or cameras in his neighborhood could alert 130 households about traffic conditions.
Armed with the video information, Strickland said, residents could decide, “Should I get in my car and evacuate, or should I shelter in place?”
The city would likely install a camera near where Highway 99 turns into North Main Street at the Ashland city limits near the railroad trestle at the north end of town, a position that would let residents of the Ashland Mine neighborhood know the status of traffic on North Main.
Other locations that being considered are on Oak Street near Bear Creek, Siskiyou Boulevard near the Ashland library, at the intersection of Siskiyou Boulevard/Highway 99 and Ashland Street/Route 66 and Siskiyou Boulevard/Highway 99 and Tolman Creek Road.
Marty Eldridge, an Ashland Mine resident, said he was glad that the effort to help his neighborhood has been embraced by the council and city officials.
“Our little camera project has expanded, and that’s just great,” he said.
Eldridge said the high definition video camera costs about $1,500, plus another $1,000 for a box to convert the video feed to upload it into the fiber optic line.
The camera has a 180-degree view, he said.
Eldridge said the video could be viewed just like the online video feed from the camera atop City Hall aimed at Ashland Plaza.
In addition, the city wants to install security cameras at The Grove on Main Street, on Winburn Way near the trash center and at the wastewater treatment plant off Oak Street.
These cameras will be in addition to those already installed at the ice rink, two at City Hall (one aimed at the Plaza, the other at Lithia Park), the skatepark, the Japanese Garden, and The Grove.
More security cameras in public spaces will help deter unlawful activity and improve public safety, according to the city.
At the same time, the city wants to make sure the cameras don’t violate privacy rights or become too intrusive. New technology allows the video feed to automatically black out homes and other areas so they can’t be viewed.
According to a new policy adopted by the council regarding video cameras, it “intends to strike a balance between enhancing public safety and respecting individual privacy rights.”
The council wholeheartedly endorsed the new policy and the cameras, citing the lessons learned about traffic congestion problems during the 2020 Almeda Fire.
Councilor Bob Kaplan said the city is almost into the fire season, and he hoped the cameras could be installed as quickly as possible.
“I feel a little bit nervous this could be a prolonged process,” he said.
Councilor Eric Hansen said cameras allow people to better plan in case of an emergency.
Scott Fleury, interim Public Works director, said he expected more requests for cameras to monitor other local streets will likely be in the offing.
For instance, he said a camera at the railroad trestle could be placed to have a view northwest to Valley View Drive along Highway 99, one of the main entrances into the downtown.
The cameras could aid with traffic control in case of an emergency that requires getting people out of the city as efficiently as possible.
“We don’t want to let people into the city,” he said.
The staff report for the video camera request is available by clicking here.
Reach writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com.
