Cameras on traffic lights?

[wdwjmp239]

My girlfriend and I were driving in the direction of Downtown Disney to get to SR 535 from the All-Star Music Resort and as we were stopped at a light, she looked up towards the traffic light and noticed a small camera mounted on it. It just wasn't this one light it was mounted on, but there were several on disney property. Once we got out onto SR 535, we didn't see any more of those cameras. Was this a response to the added security at Disney since 9/11 or was this something that Disney decided to do because of "speeders" that go flying down the straight-aways?
:veryconfu

 

[WDW Imagineer]

I have noticed them before 9/11 so I dont think they are for security. What I have noticed is if a light is red and a WDW bus pulls up the light changes pretty quickly, I think that they might be used to help speed up WDW Transport to parks and resorts.

 

[TravisMT81]

ok I am just guessing here because I haven't notice it. But they may be the sensors that make the lights red when an ambulance is near, for safety reasons.

 

[CmdrTostada]

We have those in town. There are some, they are pretty big, that take a picture when someone goes through the light. The small security camera ones are more for accident accounts. I think thats it.

 

[Talsonic]

Almost!

Good question! Those "cameras" you have seen are not actually cameras. They don't produce a "picture" or send (or record) an image to "big brother". Those devices are vehicle sensors and measure the flow of traffic at intersections and other congested areas and they can be programmed to measure speed as well. The data derived from these devices goes to both "little" computers housed in a traffic light post or a central terminal box and the data goes to a "big" computer to keep track of traffic statistics.

For many years it has been common to install "magnetic loops" in asphalt or concrete roadways. As your vehicle passes over the loop, a signal is sent back to a computer and (if the system is properly designed) traffic lights are changed to improve the flow of traffic. Unfortunately, these older loop systems fall prey to "the little old lady syndrome". You know the type. Florida is full of old folks that can't drive properly. They don't know how (or when) to enter an intersection, they stop 20 feet short of an intersection (thereby missing the all important loop) or they just "forget" to go and wait for the next change of the light. Magnetic loops will often get "stuck" if a car just sits on top of the loop. The new devices work much better. They are used all over the State of Florida.

However, the real kicker is that this system is a big part of the future of WDW transportation. While the monorail system is idyllic, it is also impractical for the future. For WDW, the bus system is the most efficient and cost effective method of moving folks around. The aforementioned "cameras" will automatically be able to "sense" the WDW buses and yield them the right of way at all intersections and other congested areas thus moving them through traffic and reducing wasteful stops and delays. The idea is to make the WDW buses similar to a "non-stop" train or subway. However, this is still a few years away.

 

[jmarc63]

Without seeing them I couldn't tell you difinitivly but if they are mounted on the standard at the corner and have two lenses it could be a "ticket camera". They take a picture of the driver and the front of the vehicle to capture the lincence plate. They have this type of camera all over Phoenix and is designed to send you a fine in the mail for going thru a red light. When you get the photo in the mail with the ticket it displays the time, date and how much time after the red light that you went thru it.

 

[lamarvenoy]

its big brother, he's on our net , he's on our phones, he's watching us drive.{welcome to 1984. knock knock- at your front door it's the suede denim secret police.} DK California Uber Alles

 

[Timekeeper]

Say Cheese

Unfortunately, none of the replies thus far have been correct. Here's the real deal:

WDW is known for taking pictures of guests on attractions and making them available for purchase - for an outrageous fee. These cameras on the traffic light poles are the next generation in that offering.

As you may have noticed, the WDW attractions take your picture when you least expect it. And when would you LEAST expect WDW to take your picture? When you're driving in your car!

In the very near future, these pictures will only be offered to those guests who are staying at one of the WDW resorts. When you check in, you provide information - which includes license plate number of the car you'll be driving throughout WDW. Thus, upon entering a license plate i.d. into the computer database, WDW personell can immediately look up exactly what room in what resort you are staying in. Say a picture is taken of you driving your Honda Civic between Animal Kingdom and EPCOT in the afternoon. When you return to your room, a message alert on your television "welcome screen" will guide you to where you can view your (digial) picture. At that point you can place an order for it if you'd like, and it will be made available to you when you check out - for an additional fee.

For obvious reasons this offering cannot be made available to guests not staying at a WDW resort.

I'm not sure if this will be publicized or not, but I seem to recall something along the lines of "Big Mouse Is Watching."

Tk

 

[Nut4Disney]

They have these in NOrth CArolina also, and they take pictures of cars (license plates) going through red lights, and send you a ticket in the mail. My mother in law has gotten one before.

 

[DMC-12]

Hi Gang...I work with ITS (Intelligent Transportation systems) so maybe I can shed some light here.

While cameras are increasing in popularity at busy intersections all accross the nation...what you saw was most likely a "sensor".

When a police, fire or ambulance is in a rush to an emergency...they have a transmitter in there vehicles...these transmitters have the ability to change the light from red to green or vise versa, within seconds. So the flow of traffice can move out of there way...and they can get to the scene of the emergency alot quicker...there are a million of these things all around metro Chicago...including the burbs....I will go into more detail later on, on this system if you would like....but now, I am off to work.

 

[jmarc63]

Re: Say Cheese

Originally posted by Timekeeper
Unfortunately, none of the replies thus far have been correct. Here's the real deal:

WDW is known for taking pictures of guests on attractions and making them available for purchase - for an outrageous fee. These cameras on the traffic light poles are the next generation in that offering.

As you may have noticed, the WDW attractions take your picture when you least expect it. And when would you LEAST expect WDW to take your picture? When you're driving in your car!

In the very near future, these pictures will only be offered to those guests who are staying at one of the WDW resorts. When you check in, you provide information - which includes license plate number of the car you'll be driving throughout WDW. Thus, upon entering a license plate i.d. into the computer database, WDW personell can immediately look up exactly what room in what resort you are staying in. Say a picture is taken of you driving your Honda Civic between Animal Kingdom and EPCOT in the afternoon. When you return to your room, a message alert on your television "welcome screen" will guide you to where you can view your (digial) picture. At that point you can place an order for it if you'd like, and it will be made available to you when you check out - for an additional fee.

For obvious reasons this offering cannot be made available to guests not staying at a WDW resort.

I'm not sure if this will be publicized or not, but I seem to recall something along the lines of "Big Mouse Is Watching."

Tk

So your saying that Disney is going to take thousands of pictures a day of every car that is traveling past that location(half of them especially near downtown disney might be just passing thru) and spend a huge amount of money to do this on a speculation they might get a sale and offer them a picture for a price that you admit is outragous..( if the price is outragous they might say forget it , I know I would) and if they arent interested then then thats time and money wasted.

I DONT THINK SO.

They have a better chance of getting to buy a pic on splasch mountain(something you cant get at home) then in you car( witch you can do at home yourself)

and being a stockholder I want them to start fixing things to the standards that walt wanted.

 

[orlandoparks]

Re: Re: Say Cheese

Originally posted by jmarc63


So your saying that Disney is going to take thousands of pictures a day of every car that is traveling past that location(half of them especially near downtown disney might be just passing thru) and spend a huge amount of money to do this on a speculation they might get a sale and offer them a picture for a price that you admit is outragous..( if the price is outragous they might say forget it , I know I would) and if they arent interested then then thats time and money wasted.

I DONT THINK SO.

They have a better chance of getting to buy a pic on splasch mountain(something you cant get at home) then in you car( witch you can do at home yourself)

and being a stockholder I want them to start fixing things to the standards that walt wanted.

Umm, perhaps it's just me, but I think he is joking.:lol:

 

[durhay]

Those cameras are relocated "urinal flush sensors". Each time a car goes through an intersection, the sensor is triggered and a randomly selected WDW urinal flushes. Before that you could flush a urinal simply by waving your hand at the sensor. This method saves tons of water and money each year. :animwink:

 

[jmarc63]

Re: Re: Re: Say Cheese

Originally posted by orlandoparks


Umm, perhaps it's just me, but I think he is joking.:lol:

I dont know he seems to know everything and nothing at the same time. Even if he was ,it was out of line with ther thread. he should have given the correct info or speculation and not a fabriction. I acually wanted to know what they were as well. I have had enough of fabrications especially when it comes to this Monorail expansion situation.

 

[johnson841]

Oh c'mon guys!!! Everyone knows that they're brainwashing devices!! Geez... cameras... HA!
That kind of technology is decades away!


I hope this explains everything.

 

[jmarc63]

Originally posted by johnson841
Oh c'mon guys!!! Everyone knows that they're brainwashing devices!! Geez... cameras... HA!
That kind of technology is decades away!


I hope this explains everything.

Welcome newbie,

which technology are you refering to ????

 

[Timekeeper]

Re: Re: Re: Say Cheese

Originally posted by orlandoparks


Umm, perhaps it's just me, but I think he is joking.:lol:

Good call, orlandoparks, good call!

I suppose some people are more attentive to subcontext than others.

Tk

 

[johnson841]

Originally posted by jmarc63



which technology are you refering to ????

\

The cameras of course!!

 

[Samurai Jax]

:fork:

''1984''
written by George Orwell,
go read it and learn something.

 

[Hurricane]

If they are mounted on the lights there is no way that they can take pictures of people breaking the law because unlike other states Florida does not have a front license plate, making a camera on a light useless unless they want to monitor traffic. Another device i've seen atop traffic lights, tho i'm not suggesting they are in use here is a radar detector blocker, these are used to block people who use radar detectors by emulating a radar wave and seding out a false signal, i don't know much about them but I know they are used on Palm Beach island (home of the Breakers). But they are most likely traffic sensors.