Joliet approves detection system to monitor stray trucks

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved a portable detection system designed to spot oversized trucks in residential neighborhoods and other areas of the city where they are not permitted.

Joliet will lease a Portable LIDAR-Based Vehicle Detection and Warning System for three years at $156,000.

The council voted 7-0 with two members absent for the lease agreement with Wisconsin-based HyPoint Solutions.

The system uses sensors and cameras to measure the size of trucks, record license plates and collect other data that could be used by the city to issue citations after the fact without an officer at the scene when violations occur, HyPoint Solutions CEO John Caya told the council at its workshop session Monday.

Caya said the system also can be used to collect data to analyze traffic patterns.

The Joliet Police Department plans to move the system around town to assist in truck law enforcement in areas where residents and businesses complain about semitrailers using local roads where they are not permitted.

City officials have not identified specific areas but said the south end of Joliet is one of the problem areas where the system would be useful.