When the Metropolitan Transit
Authority canceled its security guard contract for
Park & Ride lots in January 2005, it replaced
the on-site guards with roving Metro police and a
promise to add surveillance cameras. Now those
officers are about to get the long-awaited helping
hand they were promised.
The Metro board recently voted to buy a $20
million wireless video system for surveillance and
traffic signal control.
With the new system, one officer in the Houston
TranStar traffic control center can monitor
activity at all 25 Park & Ride lots as well as
the Hillcroft Transit Center. The equipment,
purchased from Pfeiffer & Son Inc. of La
Porte, Texas, is slated for final installation by
early next year.
The life expectancy for the system is estimated
to be 10 years. The MetroNet system will include
343 cameras, including pan-and-zoom and
ultra-wide-angle fisheye models; 150
remote-controllable security gates; 110 emergency
"blue phones"; 22 public address systems; and the
software needed to operate them in an integrated
manner.
The integrated software will enable a single
person to monitor the entire 343 cameras.
Intelligent video technology, available through
software programming, is designed to recognize
various kinds of suspicious activity. When such an
event takes place, the software will flag the
event for the operator, calling his or her
attention. The software will recognize movement of
various kinds, as well as colors and specific
occurrences, such as a person walking from car to
car in the parking lot.
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