Cranberry's rapid response
CRANBERRY TWP — When storms arrive and the township is awash in snow and sludge, the men and women of the Cranberry Public Works Department keep watch from their high-tech perch in the Traffic Operations Center.
The center is where data from sensors and cameras across the township is collected and the department’s response to Wednesday’s snowstorms was planned.
“Its been going good,” said Jason Daily, public works director. “We got out ahead of the event.”
The call went out to the employees at 4:30 a.m. via a smart phone alert system that simultaneously notifies employees in the township’s times of need.
“Our guys work 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Then, on either end of that, off-hours with call-out,” Daily said. “This morning, for instance, the police contacted them around 4 this morning. Then the on-call manager launched our alert that goes out to all of our operators via an app.”
Operators can then signal whether or not they are able to respond.
Daily unlocked his phone, displaying a host of apps public works employees use to monitor operations and communicate throughout the day.
One tracks every public works truck and monitors the progress as they make their rounds throughout the town.
“You can get an alert if a guy is done with their route, if they’re a quarter done with their route,” Daily said. “It’s a good tool.”
Another app can access the myriad of traffic cameras that monitor the comings and goings of automobiles as well as weather and road conditions.
“You have full access to control the camera,” Daily said.
The township has been developing their state-of-the-art traffic control systems for more than decade, giving Cranberry one of the most technologically advanced operations centers in the area.
“We were kind of ahead of the curve,” Daily said. “The board of supervisors supported a vision for this and you won’t find municipalities with this type of setup in most of Western Pennsylvania.”
