SEATTLE Arlington is one of several beneficiaries from the Washington State Department of Transportation as WSDOT engineers have added 16 new cameras to the popular traffic maps at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle. A link to the site is also available at www.arlingtontimes.com (click on Check Your Commute).
One of the 16 cameras is located at the 172nd Street and I-5, a.k.a. the Oliver Punk Smith Bridge over I-5 at Smokey Point.
We hear it over and over again. We love the traffic cameras, please add more, said Martin Dedinsky, WSDOT traffic engineer.
So now we have 155 online for drivers to check out before they hit the road.
New cameras are added to the roadways and traffic maps two ways. Either they are installed as part of a widening or safety project, as was the case on US 2 in Monroe, SR 522 and SR 531, or the legislature can also allocate funds to install traffic cameras where they feel there is a strong need, as was the case near SR 532s Mark Clark Bridge and Tiger Mountain.
Regardless of the source of funding, the cameras provide a clearer picture of Puget Sound traffic for all drivers. The advance information helps drivers make choices before they hit the road. WSDOTs small screen technology provides traffic maps and cameras on many cell phones as well as Web access at www.wsdot.wa.gov/small.
Visitors to the Web pages will notice other changes as well. To accommodate the new traffic cameras, the WSDOT Web team redesigned the page. Drivers will see the new Tiger Mountain camera on the right, not directly over Tiger Mountain. Links to Stanwood and Monroe are coming soon.