New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced new measures to modernize the state’s bridge and tunnel crossings, including biometric identification technology.
Security is a major component of the modernization plan, which will see anti-terrorism units paired with traffic enforcement at important crossings, along with a strong State Police and National Guardsmen presence. Meanwhile, cameras will be used to scan license plates and to “test emerging facial recognition software and equipment,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
It’s a measure that could prove increasingly popular at border crossings, with the US Customs and Border Protection agency having been testing face- and iris-based biometric scanning at the Otay Mesa border between the US and Mexico. New York will be on the leading edge in bringing such technology to its own transit checkpoints, and is evidently taking a cautious approach in framing the move as a trial.
And it’s only going to represent one part of Governor Cuomo’s overarching plan, which also includes new automatic tolling technology designed to ease congestion, ‘500-year’ flood barriers, bridge retrofitting for seismic tolerance, and more.
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October 7, 2016 – by Alex Perala
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