Noticed these boxes chained to traffic lights around Bellingham? Here’s what they’re doing

A thread circulated on the Bellingham Reddit last week asking about a box strapped to a street post downtown. If you’ve paid close attention to traffic lights across Bellingham in recent weeks, you might have noticed the new trend. These boxes have been placed at intersections across the city on a rotating basis.

So what are they, and why are they there? Here’s what we found out.

Boxes track citywide traffic data

City spokesperson Janice Keller told The Bellingham Herald the boxes are data collection devices produced by Miovision . They use a camera to capture low-resolution video of traffic at the intersection where they’re stationed. The video is then uploaded to the internet and processed by an algorithm to determine how often cars, pedestrians, and bikes pass by in a given timeframe.

The devices can also be used to track average vehicle speeds. However, they aren’t used to enforce speed limits – city law only allows traffic safety cameras to enforce red lights, school zone speed limits and railroad crossings.

Part of a years-long plan

The boxes are part of the city’s effort to get accurate traffic estimates at intersections across Bellingham. The city has five units in use, which it’s been using for 24-hour data samples during the work week at various intersections.

The city’s plan is to station them at intersections across the city over the next three years in order to get “consistent baseline counts,” the city spokesperson said. This long-term approach ensures that the city will have reliable data for future traffic management decisions.

Once the city has those counts, it plans to narrow its focus to select intersections on a rotating basis.