Thursday, October 1, 2026
Intercity Transit is partnering with the City of Lacey to install and operate artificial intelligence-enabled sensors at 10 intersections near the Lacey Transit Center and Martin Way.
The Intercity Transit Authority authorized General Manager Emily Bergkamp to sign an interlocal agreement for the coordination of the project with the City of Lacey at a meeting on Jan. 7.
Intercity Transit’s Development Director Peter Stackpole told the authority the agreement provides the legal framework for installing and operating the sensors on Lacey-owned infrastructure. It also defines ownership, responsibilities and public record obligations related to equipment.
The project is being funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SMART Grant Program, which supports technology projects aimed at addressing real-world transportation challenges.
Intercity Transit has already received $2 million to begin a demonstration phase to determine whether the technology is accurate and reliable, produces useful information, and can be efficiently scaled.
Stackpole said the sensors would analyze how vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians move through Martin Way.
Data from the sensors feed into a dashboard that translates the information into performance metrics that could help the agency evaluate reliability, identify safety and operational hot spots, and analyze the impacts of operational changes.
“At a high level, the goals are to reduce conflicts and improve safety for all modes, improve operational performance … and test whether the technology can be scaled to other corridors,” Stackpole said.
He emphasized that the sensors are not traditional surveillance cameras and would not collect information that can be linked to individuals. He said the sensors would not capture facial images nor license plates.
Authority member Kelly Von Holtz asked how the agency plans to inform the public about the sensors to prevent confusion with license plate readers, such as Flock Safety cameras.
Stackpole said staff are developing a project web page to better explain the purpose and function of the sensors.
The goal is to complete the demonstration phase by November 2026, and then return to the authority with results of the project.
As for procurement, he said all equipment would be purchased through a state contract that would be fully covered by the grant.
Authority member Carolina Mejia asked whether potential changes in federal grant requirements could affect the project, given recent federal efforts to condition grant funding on compliance with the U.S. government’s immigration policy.
Jeffrey Myers, the agency’s legal counsel, said the program is already covered by a federal court injunction that blocks the U.S. Department of Transportation from conditioning grant funding on immigration enforcement compliance.
He added the federal government has also agreed to withdraw such conditions from SMART grants.
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JW
But what if ICE accesses the cameras?
Wednesday, January 14 Report this
Deskandchairs
Hey, JW story says: "He emphasized that the sensors are not traditional surveillance cameras and would not collect information that can be linked to individuals. He said the sensors would not capture facial images nor license plates. "
But I am sure they capture immigration status.
Wednesday, January 14 Report this
Olyrkrgrrl
I just have to wonder about the need for this. What is the problem they need to address? Can it not be addressed by other means, besides jumping into the world of AI surveillance? The more we use AI to 'solve' our problems, the more dependant on it we will become. Pretty soon, people will not have to think at all - but we will still have to slave to feed the AI Overlords that will control us all. We will have to feed it enormous amounts of electricity and water... who will have priority when we enter scarcity? Hint: not us.
Thursday, January 15 Report this