Monitoring Devices Installed On These Western New York Roads

The next time you are on a back country, rural or open road or highway in Western New York, you may be counted by an eye in the sky. There is a device that is being used on various roads in various towns to get an idea of the amount of traffic that passes by.

The winter and spring are starting to collide. For the pavement and asphalt around Buffalo and Western New York, that means trouble. The freezing and thawing on repeat tears apart the roads and not only do potholes pop open, chunks of road come apart as plows and other traffic pass over them.

It is 2024, and we are used to being watched wherever we go. From cameras on the New York State Thruway, to cameras on buildings, in cars and on front doors of homes, it is hard to go anywhere without being on some sort of camera. Devices like the one in the picture below are used to monitor traffic. I have seen them around Cattaraugus County and some roads in southern Erie County.

There Erie County Department of Public Works said on their Facebook page that:

You might have seen these new NYSDOT traffic counters popping up throughout the County. Please read below for more information regarding the new units and what they are used for!

The forecast is calling for a big warm up here in Western New York over the next few days. In fact, there are some reports that call for temperatures to be in the 60 degree range by the middle of the week. The road crews will be out in full force working to repair roads and find areas that need either full reconstruction or cold patch.