Driving forward: New traffic equipment helps Trussville become safer, ‘smarter’

Trussville’s top two public safety leaders almost jumped from their seats and high-fived.

That is how important the approval the Trussville City Council made Oct. 8 is to Trussville Police Chief Eric Rush and Trussville Fire Chief Tim Shotts.

“It’s a game-changer,” Rush said.

The City Council first approved the purchase of preemptive equipment for emergency signal switching, for both the traffic signals and vehicles. It cost the city $145,461.84. The City Council then authorized Mayor Buddy Choat to sign a two-year contract with Alabama Power for public safety access to real-time surveillance and investigative data captured by the cameras. The total cost for that contract adds up to $4,373.65 per month.

The signal switching is a preemption measure that will help emergency vehicles get through traffic lights at a quicker pace. Technology installed near approximately 26 traffic lights in the city communicate with modules inside emergency vehicles, allowing the lights to be controlled remotely so that the emergency vehicles can get through green lights.

“It’s really for the safety of the motorists,” Rush said. “They’re out on the roadway when the emergency vehicles are coming through, it’s going to make that situation way less dangerous because they’re not going to be in the way. You’re going to be able to go. You know how when you’re sitting at a red light and an emergency vehicle comes up, you can’t get out of the way. That’s not going to happen anymore because the light is going to turn green and you’ll be able to get out of the way.”

The traffic signals can also be tailored to control traffic flow in Trussville. This will require many traffic surveys and studies, Rush said, but it will help motorists get to where they are going quicker.

“But that, in itself, you’re talking about a better quality of life, to be able to get around and not have to sit in traffic,” he said.

The real-time surveillance and investigative data aspect of the approval, Rush stressed, is not a “big brother” measure. It takes snapshot photos of license plates when motion is detected, not video.

“We’re not using any of this technology to monitor law-abiding, everyday citizens,” he said. “If you’re coming to Trussville to commit a crime, then yeah, we’re using that. We’re using that to get a picture of you, get a picture of your car. But if you’re a law-abiding citizen, we’re not monitoring you. We have no reason to go in there and try to find you. We’re only using it for investigating crimes.”

The cameras include license plate reader technology and a “Hot List,” which Rush said police can use to be alerted when a stolen vehicle, person with outstanding arrest warrants, a vehicle linked to a missing person and more are caught on camera.

“I think the word is going to get out and this is definitely going to be a deterrent, especially the license plate reader technology,” Rush said. “That is a game-changer.”

Officers receive an alert within seconds with a location and vehicle description, which they then investigate.

“Their main goal is the safety of the citizens here in Trussville,” Rush said. “All the crimes that we have, the vast majority of it, is being committed by people who live in other parts. They don’t live in Trussville.”

The surveillance data is saved for 30 days, so if police need to look back at a particular date or for a specific car model, they can do so.

“Public safety is a priority for us,” Choat said.

Rush said that of both the approvals the City Council made, what Trussville citizens will notice the most is the improvement of traffic patterns over time.

“I’m excited,” he said. “These are the first steps to making this a smart city.”

Rush, who started his career with the Trussville Police Department in 1996, never thought officers would be equipped with such a technological job aid.

“When I started, you didn’t even have a computer,” he said. “You policed off of your gut instinct. You had training and stuff, but you’d sometimes use the little hairs on the back of your neck. These guys nowadays, they have so many tools.”

The Travel Safely app can be downloaded to receive local traffic notifications and information.

“We’re committed to having a safe Trussville,” City Councilman Alan Taylor said.