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The referenced project is open source https://github.com/wttdotm/traffic_cam_photobooth https://github.com/wttdotm/traffic_cam_photobooth TIL NYC traffic cams

The referenced project is open source https://github.com/wttdotm/traffic_cam_photobooth https://github.com/wttdotm/traffic_cam_photobooth TIL NYC traffic cams have a live feed on the web "NYC DOT traffic cameras only provide live feeds and do not record any footage. There are 919 cameras available via the NYCTMC.org website."[1] random traffic camera https://webcams.nyctmc.org/api/cameras/a8f2d065-c266-4378-ac63-50b81677da84/image https://webcams.nyctmc.org/api/cameras/a8f2d065-c266-4378-ac... [1] https://webcams.nyctmc.org/about https://webcams.nyctmc.org/about

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
What is their use if they don't record anything? Just to measure current traffic levels? I assumed they were all used as ALPRs. I've seen some cameras sprouting up in my small town and it worries me.
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  Yes, and they predate the internet. They are essentially a public live traffic report so that the news agencies are not running helicopters amok to get the same footage; and many of the cameras are in tight locations where it would be hard to fly helicopters or drones without irritating neighbors or being a danger to public safety.
  - rcpt 2y ago
    Sounds like great technology
    - soulofmischief 2y ago
      The government of NYC has a long history of abusing the rights of its people and engaging in overreaching and unwarranted surveillance. They have not shown that they can be trusted with even traffic cameras. They scan license plates all through the city and use this technology to create a chilling effect which allows their authoritarian regime to remain unchallenged.
      - bobthepanda 2y ago
        These cameras in particular would not be any good for that. They're usually mounted super high up and very low resolution, at 0.5FPS, and they are in such high traffic locations that bumper to bumper traffic would just obscure the plates of the cars in front and behind. You can see the data feeds here, actually. https://webcams.nyctmc.org/map https://webcams.nyctmc.org/map. You can hardly make out anything.
      - mikeweiss 2y ago
        License plates are constantly scanned everywhere in the United States by public and private entities. What is the chilling effect you're referring to?
        soulofmischief 2y ago
        Yes, and it's actually pretty rampant in my own current city, it's been a huge sore point for years with activists. The chilling effect is that resistance becomes that much harder as the authoritarian ratchet tightens. When the movements of people can be tracked en masse via some panopticon, it is very easy to prevent them from organizing into any real threat against the incumbent. Here's an example from just last month in my city: https://www.wbrz.com/news/license-plate-readers-popping-up-at-mall-of-louisiana/ https://www.wbrz.com/news/license-plate-readers-popping-up-a... Crime, etc. are always the reason given. But my city has repeatedly shown they cannot be trusted with these kinds of powers. Here's more information from the ACLU on this exact topic: https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/chilling-effects-license-plate-location-tracking https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/chilling-effects... > Knowing or suspecting that we're being watched can stop us from engaging in certain kinds of behavior, even when it's perfectly lawful. For example, it might affect our decision to go to a certain barber (what would my other barber say?), meet up with a friend (what would my mom say?), eat at a restaurant (what would my trainer say?), or take the scenic route (is it suspicious that I'm not using my normal route?) Keep in mind that just a few decades ago we had the Red Scare. We harassed and ruined the lives of people over thoughtcrime, for simply supporting the notion of alternate economies or just accepting those who did. Imagine the scope of that if we'd had the surveillance network that we do today. And there is no indication that we won't have a similar event in the near future. Lastly, I know your question is in good faith and thank you for asking for clarification. That said, it's important to consider that manufactured normality isn't a valid reason to not question authority. It's quite easy for Corpgov to do anything at scale long enough that new generations are born into it and wholly accept it without question. All expressions of governmental authority must be constantly challenged and defended, and any possibility of chilling effects should be investigated thoroughly, time and again. This is our duty as The People, the fourth branch of the government. This is the critical check and balance which keeps things from becoming irrecoverably fucked.
- ldoughty 2y ago
  Just because NYCTMC doesn't record doesn't mean NYC Police, or any other group doesn't... Could have been intentionally coordinated or not at the beginning, but it almost certainly is recorded by several players now
  - CPLX 2y ago
    Google NYPD Viper Unit
    - someothherguyy 2y ago
      Video Interactive Patrol Enhancement Response It sounds like they install their own cameras though.
      - SturgeonsLaw 2y ago
        > Interactive Patrol Enhancement Response Man they came up with a pretty clunky name in order to shoehorn it into the cool acronym VIPER
        manquer 2y ago
        At some point why bother making it an acronym that makes little sense . Just call it VIPER, it doesn’t have ostensibly stand for a shoehorned acronym with no meaning
        knallfrosch 2y ago
        They invent these during work time, plus it's fun.
        bravetraveler 2y ago
        Avenue for getting you and your buddies funding. More buddies, more letters.
- ssl-3 2y ago
  The small(ish) town I grew up in started using cameras a dozen or more years ago. They get used with computer vision to control and coordinate traffic lights (sometimes with the help of inductive loops in the pavement, and sometimes without). In this particular case: They don't record anything, and their ISM 900MHz backhauls don't have enough bandwidth for centralized video anyway. (Sources: Background in RF, and I used to hang out with the city employee who took care of this system along with most other things relating to traffic lights there.)
- tech234a 2y ago
  In 2020-2021, the NYC Mesh team ran a project called streetwatch.live (dead link) to archive footage from traffic cameras.
- bri3d 2y ago
  The cameras in your small town are probably https://www.flocksafety.com/ https://www.flocksafety.com/ , which are definitely ALPRs. The NYC traffic cameras are to a great extent an anomaly from a bygone era; cameras installed at an exact point in time where real-time monitoring sans analysis or recording made sense.
  - bobthepanda 2y ago
    They still do. While phones can give you real time traffic as well, one with good enough knowledge of the local road system can use the live traffic reports to actively navigate away, sometimes more effectively than the mapping apps.
  - chrisdhoover 2y ago
    They may or may not be. Most traffic light mounted cameras video presence detectors
- ashoeafoot 2y ago
  Any legal four eyed entity couldvread that lifrstream and send it to the NSA?
  - wholinator2 2y ago
    Yeah, to think that just cause the broadcaster isn't saving it, that it's not being saved? Nah, someone is saving it, they might not use it, they might not keep it, but it's getting scraped, even if by just regular peoples science projects
- mortehu 2y ago
  When I'm heading to New Jersey, I often check the Holland Tunnel entrance camera to see whether there's a jam. The intersection only flows well if there's a traffic cop there, which factors into route decisions.
  - djmips 2y ago
    Surely that could be automated.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago

What is their use if they don't record anything? Just to measure current traffic levels? I assumed they were all used as ALPRs. I've seen some cameras sprouting up in my small town and it worries me.

bobthepanda 2y ago
Yes, and they predate the internet. They are essentially a public live traffic report so that the news agencies are not running helicopters amok to get the same footage; and many of the cameras are in tight locations where it would be hard to fly helicopters or drones without irritating neighbors or being a danger to public safety.
- rcpt 2y ago
  Sounds like great technology
  - soulofmischief 2y ago
    The government of NYC has a long history of abusing the rights of its people and engaging in overreaching and unwarranted surveillance. They have not shown that they can be trusted with even traffic cameras. They scan license plates all through the city and use this technology to create a chilling effect which allows their authoritarian regime to remain unchallenged.
    - bobthepanda 2y ago
      These cameras in particular would not be any good for that. They're usually mounted super high up and very low resolution, at 0.5FPS, and they are in such high traffic locations that bumper to bumper traffic would just obscure the plates of the cars in front and behind. You can see the data feeds here, actually. https://webcams.nyctmc.org/map https://webcams.nyctmc.org/map. You can hardly make out anything.
    - mikeweiss 2y ago
      License plates are constantly scanned everywhere in the United States by public and private entities. What is the chilling effect you're referring to?
      - soulofmischief 2y ago
        Yes, and it's actually pretty rampant in my own current city, it's been a huge sore point for years with activists. The chilling effect is that resistance becomes that much harder as the authoritarian ratchet tightens. When the movements of people can be tracked en masse via some panopticon, it is very easy to prevent them from organizing into any real threat against the incumbent. Here's an example from just last month in my city: https://www.wbrz.com/news/license-plate-readers-popping-up-at-mall-of-louisiana/ https://www.wbrz.com/news/license-plate-readers-popping-up-a... Crime, etc. are always the reason given. But my city has repeatedly shown they cannot be trusted with these kinds of powers. Here's more information from the ACLU on this exact topic: https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/chilling-effects-license-plate-location-tracking https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/chilling-effects... > Knowing or suspecting that we're being watched can stop us from engaging in certain kinds of behavior, even when it's perfectly lawful. For example, it might affect our decision to go to a certain barber (what would my other barber say?), meet up with a friend (what would my mom say?), eat at a restaurant (what would my trainer say?), or take the scenic route (is it suspicious that I'm not using my normal route?) Keep in mind that just a few decades ago we had the Red Scare. We harassed and ruined the lives of people over thoughtcrime, for simply supporting the notion of alternate economies or just accepting those who did. Imagine the scope of that if we'd had the surveillance network that we do today. And there is no indication that we won't have a similar event in the near future. Lastly, I know your question is in good faith and thank you for asking for clarification. That said, it's important to consider that manufactured normality isn't a valid reason to not question authority. It's quite easy for Corpgov to do anything at scale long enough that new generations are born into it and wholly accept it without question. All expressions of governmental authority must be constantly challenged and defended, and any possibility of chilling effects should be investigated thoroughly, time and again. This is our duty as The People, the fourth branch of the government. This is the critical check and balance which keeps things from becoming irrecoverably fucked.
ldoughty 2y ago
Just because NYCTMC doesn't record doesn't mean NYC Police, or any other group doesn't... Could have been intentionally coordinated or not at the beginning, but it almost certainly is recorded by several players now
- CPLX 2y ago
  Google NYPD Viper Unit
  - someothherguyy 2y ago
    Video Interactive Patrol Enhancement Response It sounds like they install their own cameras though.
    - SturgeonsLaw 2y ago
      > Interactive Patrol Enhancement Response Man they came up with a pretty clunky name in order to shoehorn it into the cool acronym VIPER
      - manquer 2y ago
        At some point why bother making it an acronym that makes little sense . Just call it VIPER, it doesn’t have ostensibly stand for a shoehorned acronym with no meaning
        knallfrosch 2y ago
        They invent these during work time, plus it's fun.
        bravetraveler 2y ago
        Avenue for getting you and your buddies funding. More buddies, more letters.
ssl-3 2y ago
The small(ish) town I grew up in started using cameras a dozen or more years ago. They get used with computer vision to control and coordinate traffic lights (sometimes with the help of inductive loops in the pavement, and sometimes without). In this particular case: They don't record anything, and their ISM 900MHz backhauls don't have enough bandwidth for centralized video anyway. (Sources: Background in RF, and I used to hang out with the city employee who took care of this system along with most other things relating to traffic lights there.)
tech234a 2y ago
In 2020-2021, the NYC Mesh team ran a project called streetwatch.live (dead link) to archive footage from traffic cameras.
bri3d 2y ago
The cameras in your small town are probably https://www.flocksafety.com/ https://www.flocksafety.com/ , which are definitely ALPRs. The NYC traffic cameras are to a great extent an anomaly from a bygone era; cameras installed at an exact point in time where real-time monitoring sans analysis or recording made sense.
- bobthepanda 2y ago
  They still do. While phones can give you real time traffic as well, one with good enough knowledge of the local road system can use the live traffic reports to actively navigate away, sometimes more effectively than the mapping apps.
- chrisdhoover 2y ago
  They may or may not be. Most traffic light mounted cameras video presence detectors
ashoeafoot 2y ago
Any legal four eyed entity couldvread that lifrstream and send it to the NSA?
- wholinator2 2y ago
  Yeah, to think that just cause the broadcaster isn't saving it, that it's not being saved? Nah, someone is saving it, they might not use it, they might not keep it, but it's getting scraped, even if by just regular peoples science projects
mortehu 2y ago
When I'm heading to New Jersey, I often check the Holland Tunnel entrance camera to see whether there's a jam. The intersection only flows well if there's a traffic cop there, which factors into route decisions.
- djmips 2y ago
  Surely that could be automated.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]