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Claiming it's because there's no poles to mount them on, the City of Paradise Valley, Arizona began installing license plate readers inside towering, fake cacti:
LPRs are normally mounted on light poles and traffic lights to scan for stolen cars or vehicles involved in an Amber Alert, but cities and counties have been stashing them in dozens of different covert locations, from car's fog lamps to retrofitted ladders. And in Arizona, it's not uncommon to see antennas camouflaged as a cactus, so the decision – at least from an aesthetic point-of-view – makes sense.
[...] [Town manager Kevin] Burke said the cameras are not being put in fake cactus to be secretive, but because there are no light poles in the area to put them on. He says they're trying to make the cameras aesthetically pleasing. It's all part of a $2 million police technology upgrade the council passed last year.
Is it safe to say the cameras are operated by a bunch of pricks?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday May 16 2015, @05:43AM
Phoenix, and surrounding cities [ecofriend.com] seem to have a habit of disguising cell towers and such.
I guess the disguise worked well in this case. After all, the discussion isn't about WHY they need plate readers at all, but rather the whole discussion is sidetracked about why did they hide them.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday May 16 2015, @05:59AM
Here are a couple of pages that explain Distributed Antenna Systems used in Paradise Valley and surrounds. The idea is you build lots of small towers all interconnected. It provides better coverage than large tall towers.
The technique is something of a local specialty in that area. I'd be willing to bet the same companies are involved.
http://www.deadzones.com/2011/05/phoenix-arizona-fake-cactus-cell-towers.html [deadzones.com]
http://www.deadzones.com/2009/03/distributed-antenna-systems-challenges.html#.VVbaHflViko [deadzones.com]
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.