ANAHEIM : Plan to Ease Traffic Near Stadium OKd

A $1.9-million traffic plan that officials say will ease congestion near Anaheim Stadium before and after events was unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday.

The plan calls for installing seven new closed-circuit television cameras that will beam pictures of traffic in the area to three controllers at City Hall, who can change traffic signals in the area to ease congestion. Two cameras are already in place in the stadium area, in addition to five in the Disneyland and Convention Center area.

Twelve monitoring devices that will track the speed of traffic in the area will also be placed in the pavement on State College Boulevard and on Sunkist Street, near where the Anaheim Arena is being built.

Also to be installed along the adjacent Orange Freeway and Katella Avenue are five changeable message boards that will allow the controllers to give motorists information about which streets and stadium entrances are congested and should be avoided. Seven are already in place near Disneyland.

An AM radio transmitter will also be installed at the stadium to allow motorists on nearby streets to receive traffic reports.

The program will be installed by JHK & Associates, a San Francisco firm that built the system near Disneyland.

The program’s installation is being paid for by federal, state and county grants, but Councilman Tom Daly pointed out that the city does have to pay the salaries of the controllers. Officials could not estimate that cost because the controllers are full-time city employees who work elsewhere in the city when the traffic center is closed. The center is open for major events.

Daly, however, agreed with Councilman Irv Pickler’s argument that having the system will save the city money because the intersections will no longer have to be monitored in person by police officers.

Candid-Camera Traffic

To ease traffic congestion, officials propose installing closed-circuit television cameras and other devices around the Anaheim Stadium area. Cameras will allow operators to watch for trouble spots and remotely change traffic signals to relieve bottlenecks. Sensors embedded in the roads, electronic message signs and radio transmitters for AM traffic broadcasts will also be installed.

Source: City of Anaheim