New Traffic Cameras Approved For Harlem Avenue-183rd Street Intersection

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Village Board approved last week spending up to $170,000 to install eight new cameras at the intersection near the Tinely Park Convention Center to replace the two that a recent study found didn't work up to the levels needed by local law enforcement, according to the Daily Southtown. The replacements come after residents asked for better cameras following an August home invasion robbery in which gunmen locked up the homeowners and others in the basement.

The cameras will be installed at Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street as part of a recommendation by a consultant who reviewed Tinley Park's entire network of more that 135 cameras around the village, the Southtown reports. At an August Village Board committee meeting, the consultant from Naperville-based Pace Systems said the two cameras at the intersection, which is just north of the on- and off-ramps for Interstate 80, are unable to capture detailed images, including vehicle license plates, and he called them "just about useless" when it comes to night photography.

Currently, the intersection's cameras only provide views heading in two directions, north and south. The consultant recommended that enough cameras be installed sotraffic in all four directions can be seen. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Tinley Park news. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The new cameras will produce images with higher resolutions, and license plate recognition will be a feature on some of the replacements, the report stated. The Tinely Park Police Department will work with village officials to determine which cameras will include that ability, the report added.

RELATED: Homeowners Locked In Basement During Tinley Park Home Invasion

A review of the village's camera network was spurred by neighbors in and around the 8000 block of Pottawatomi Trail, the site of an Aug. 12 home robbery that occurred while people were inside the house. In that incident, three armed men forced the homeowners and several guests — including children — into the home's basement and locked them in there, police said. The intruders, who got in through an open garage door, also demanded the victims' cellphones, electronics and money before fleeing in an unidentified vehicle.

No one has been charged in the home invasion, and at the request of Mayor Jacob Vandenberg, the Illinois State Crime Commission is offering a $2,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction. Police have been working with the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in its investigation.

RELATED: Reward Offered For Leads In Tinley Park Home Invasion

The Village Board approved the new cameras at Harlem and 183rd during its Oct. 17 meeting. Other streets and intersections Tinley Park officials are considering for camera upgrades —or in some cases, installing them in areas without any — include LaGrange Road and 183rd Street and around Brookside Marketplace, near I-80.

YOUR TURN: What do you think of the approval of new cameras at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and 183 Street? What other areas and intersections should the village address? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.

More via the Daily Southtown

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