By JEFF FARRELL

Staff Writer

SEVIERVILLE — Those new cameras appearing along Highway 66 are there to help traffic — not issue tickets.

City officials want to be clear on that much: the new technology, developed by Aldis Corp. of Oak Ridge, is designed to help adjust to changing traffic patterns and respond to backups without always requiring a police officer to come out and man the controls.

What it doesn’t do, they said, is get pictures of cars that run the lights. It isn’t even designed to capture license plates.

“It is not a red-light camera,” said Bob Stahlke, public information officer for the city. “This is a traffic control camera that is basically in place of the loops that would be under the lanes at the intersection.”

The cameras provide a 360-degree view of the intersection. Using software designed by Aldis, city officials can designate areas in each lane where the camera should detect cars — and base the light cycle on that information.

That means that they can keep traffic flowing on Highway 66 longer when there aren’t cars trying to turn off of secondary roads. It also means they can adjust the patterns quickly whenever the flow of traffic changes. That’s a big plus during a massive construction project like the expansion of Highway 66.

Previously, the city used loops under the road for that purpose. The loops would detect cars waiting to turn or travel through the intersection, and send a signal to the lights.

But Stahlke noted they use magnets to detect the cars, so they don’t always “notice” motorcycles or some newer cars that use considerably less metal than older models.

“Some people think the loops work on a vehicle’s weight, but what the loops do is pick up on the magnetic field of the vehicle,” he said.

During construction, the loops are all but useless. They can’t be adjusted when the flow of traffic changes while work is going on. The new cameras can be adjusted without even going to the site.

“There’s going to be numerous instances where they will change lanes and maybe use a shoulder for a lane or a center turn lane for a third lane and with the camera we can reconfigure the lanes and do it remotely,” Stahlke said. “We can do it immediately.”

The work is being paid for by the Tennessee Department of Transportation; money budgeted for replacement of the old loops is being used to purchase the cameras instead.

City officials hope that will result in better traffic flow during construction, which they acknowledge has become a problem. Police officers are often visible at the manual controls for the lights; they hope the new cameras will reduce the need to send them to the intersections.

“With the construction and lane changes and everything it may still be necessary at peak times,” Stahlke said.

When cars approach the stop bar — the white line at intersections that designates where automobiles should stop — the cameras send a signal to the controllers along the road, which then cycle through the lights.

The cameras will also provide the city, and Aldis, with real-time data on the volume of traffic flow along the road.

“We’re able to adjust the signal timing based on real-time data,” said Matt Greenoe, vice president of Aldis.

The lights have been installed at the intersection of Highway 66 and Main Street and Highway 66 and North Parkway. They will eventually be added at other intersections in the construction area.

jfarrell@themountainpress.com