CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland City Council is considering legislation to allow the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to install traffic safety cameras on a city-maintained stretch of highway — a modern system designed to warn drivers of slowdowns and backed-up traffic before they’re caught off guard.
The cameras being installed by ODOT won’t write tickets. They’re built to save lives.
Known as a Queue Warning System, the technology uses cameras and sensors to detect when traffic is slowing or backing up. When it does, it triggers the large message boards already lining the highways — flashing warnings like “slow traffic ahead” or “crash ahead.” A couple of new signs will go up, others will be retrofitted. Drivers can also track the messages in real time through ODOT’s OHGO app.
“It’s just going to say things like ‘slow traffic ahead,’ ‘stop traffic ahead,’ ‘crash ahead’ — simple warning messages that you need to pay attention to and then slow down before you get to these queues,” said Brent Kovacs, public information officer for ODOT District 12…