Why Cameras Are Being Installed At West and Onota In Pittsfield

If you've driven through the intersection of West and Onota streets in Pittsfield lately, you might have noticed something new: cameras being installed atop the traffic lights.

Before you worry about red-light tickets showing up in your mailbox, relax. These cameras have a much simpler job.

Public Works Commissioner Ricardo Morales explained to me on the phone today that recent construction in the area damaged the underground induction loops embedded in the asphalt. Those loops are what detect when a vehicle is waiting at a red light and trigger the signal to change to green.

Without them, the traffic light has been running on a timer, and it hasn't been working optimally. I waited at the intersection for what felt like FOREVER recently.

"The city had some older cameras available, so they're being installed at that intersection temporarily so the traffic light will function properly," Morales said.

In other words, the cameras are just there to do what those underground loops used to do: detect cars and change the light accordingly.

What About Other Data?

So what else are these cameras tracking? Not much.

Morales clarified that the older cameras being installed at West and Onota are pretty basic. However, newer versions of these cameras, like the ones on North Street and near the newly reconstructed sections around Berkshire Medical Center, can be accessed by police for accident reconstruction or potentially for investigating crimes.

But let's be clear: they're not being used to write traffic tickets.

The Bottom Line

The cameras at West and Onota are a temporary fix to help traffic flow smoothly while the city figures out a more permanent solution using updated cameras.

So if you're waiting at that light, you can thank the camera above for (hopefully) getting you through the intersection a little faster.