Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Gwinnett commuters can check on traffic before they leave for the office in the morning.

Officials held a press conference Tuesday touting live feeds from Gwinnett's Traffic Control Center to residents' televisions.

On the county's government cable channel, which can be found at channels 23, 25 or 99, depending on the cable provider, camera feeds from 12 heavily used intersections and corridors in the county will be broadcast during rush hour -- between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays.

The intersections can also be viewed 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week at www.gcsmartcommute.com.

"By applying technology to our traffic congestion, we are making a real difference without having to constantly widen roads," Chairman Charles Bannister said.

In recent years, the county has built a network of fiber optic cables and cameras for the Advanced Traffic Management System/Intelligent Transportation System, bringing about 90 cameras currently operation, with another 55 expected within the next year.

At the traffic center in Lawrenceville, engineers use the system to make real-time changes to traffic signals without having to drive to the scene of a malfunctioning signal.

"We're getting real-time video from the street," said Chuck Bailey of the Gwinnett Department of Transportation. "If there is an issue, we could make timing adjustments from here."