Old Town Cameras: Surveillance or Promotion?

The controversy surrounding the Old Town Fort Collins camera project has been strikingly nonexistent.

The $11,000 system includes three cameras strategically placed around Old Town Square. One camera will be streamed live on the Downtown Development Authority’s website and the two others can be accessed by review.

The camera on the west side of the square were designed to be detailed and capture various key elements of the square. One reason the original low-quality, ineffective 360-degree camera was replaced in December.

A report on Dec. 8, 2011 to the board of directors from the Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, states the objective for the cameras is to be an advertising platform and to deter occasional problems or criminal behavior.

The square is a public place, the report says, people don’t have the same expectation of privacy.

It could have given the city insight into who might have vandalized the women’s restroom last year, said Matt Robenalt, DDA president. The fire resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage.

This type of mischief is what initiated the businesses on the square to approach the DDA in 2009. The Downtown Business Association and Police Services officially presented the request to the DDA for funding.