INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A new technology is helping the city of Independence, Missouri, prepare for winter weather. The city installed new road sensors that monitor air and ground temperatures, precipitation levels and grip.
Data gathered from the sensors will help city crews determine when to call in staffing, how many to call, how much material to use and determine areas of greater need. It is supposed to help the city come up with a plan of action with inclement weather hits.
“It’s a struggle to even get to Independence, and then people are just crazy,” said Michelle Walz who works in the Independence Square. “To be honest with you, if I wake up tomorrow and it’s snowing, I probably won’t come.”
Daily commute to work for Walz usually takes 30 to 45 minutes one way. She says driving in the snow in Independence can be dangerous, so it is a risk she will never take. Walz is in full support of the city’s latest investment for this reason.
“They probably need to concentrate more on the smaller roads, you know, not the highways so much,” said Walz. “As long as we can get to work safe and all that kind of stuff yeah, it’s money well spent.”
Funding for the sensors came from the city’s streets sales tax. According to the city, information from these sensors will save them an estimated $50,000 a year.
“I think it’ll help because it makes life more efficient for the public works department,” said Erle Klipper, who stopped driving in recent years.
Klipper and Walz would like to see extra savings in the city budget to go toward drug and alcohol recovery programs and assistance for the homeless.
—
