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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

ALBASTER – The city of Alabaster is placing cameras around major intersections to monitor traffic and alert citizens of blocked railroad crossings.

The council approved an agreement with Alabama Power during its Nov. 28 meeting to place several cameras at intersections in the city for $7,533 per month.

“Our IT Department led the charge on this, and it’s really a great idea to help us monitor traffic and rail crossings and keep the public informed of any issues,” Public Relations Manager Neal Wagner said. “We just want to be able to notify you more quickly if there’s a blocked crossing or traffic flow issue.”

The cameras are not capable of facial recognition, reading license plates or anything along those lines, Wagner said.

“The cameras are designed to monitor traffic flow and railroad crossings in the city so the Alabaster Police Department’s Communications Division can continually monitor and quickly notify the public about blocked rail crossings, traffic flow issues and more,” Wagner said. “We’ll use our social media accounts and the ‘Notify Me’ system that folks can sign up for on our website to alert the public of any blocked crossings, traffic flow issues, etc.”