Ask MRN: Are the cameras at Broadway intersections recording traffic on video?

Dear MRN,

Are these cameras (on Broadway) recording traffic on video? Can we see or watch the video? What are these cameras used for?

The camera shown in the photo above, and others like them at other intersections throughout Quincy, are used to detect vehicle movement to help regulate traffic signals.

“They are normal cameras, but they’re set up and used specifically for that purpose of vehicle detection,” said Adam Yates, chief of the Quincy Police Department.

Yates says the cameras are at most intersections in Quincy that have a traffic light. The cameras on Broadway, a state highway, are owned and maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“There is no camera on any traffic light that, as a police officer, I can say, ‘There was a traffic crash here yesterday at this specific time. I want to go back and watch the footage to see what happened at the traffic crash,’” Yates said. “Those cameras do not record and store video for that purpose. They’re literally just capturing the video at real time to monitor movement and therefore regulate the traffic signals.”

Yates has been with the police department for 22 years. He said he is not aware of any intersection in the city where a camera recorded footage that a police officer could review.

“Now, there are certain intersections where we know that a business has a camera that has a certain angle on it, and it happens to have an intersection,” Yates said. “So if something major happened at that intersection, we might go to that business and request a look at the video. They are not city-owned cameras. It’s just something that we have access to. It’s something that we have to request from that particular business.”

Yates also said the cameras mounted at city intersections can detect certain lighting patterns for emergency vehicles, allowing the device to turn the light green when it recognizes a fire truck or ambulance is coming.

Dear MRN, 

What does the three-digit number mean at the end of charge listing for each individual on the QPD blotter?

Yates says that three-digit number is the badge number for the officer who filed the report.

Dear MRN, 

I saw in the listings of real estate transactions on your website that Pike County bought a building on June 22 for $1.1 million. What is that building going to be used for?

Pike County bought a 7.1-acre lot with an industrial building in Newburg Township in Pike County from Two Oldogs LLC for $1.1 million, according to property tax records filed in the Pike County Recorder’s office. Two Oldogs is a limited liability company in Quincy with two managers — Steve Brink of Quincy and Richard Allen of Pittsfield.

Chris Johnson, county engineer for the Pike County Highway Department, says the building will be used as the facility for all highway department operations. The highway department’s current home is 1101 Lakeview Heights in Pittsfield.