Gulf Shores Invests in AI Cameras to Manage Traffic

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

September 2, 2025

GULF SHORES, Ala. Recently, several Baldwin County cities along the Gulf Coast have added high-tech cameras called Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) to scan license plates to determine if the vehicle is stolen, the owner is wanted, or has been involved in a crime, and now, more technology is being installed to protect residents and visitors.

The City of Gulf Shores has installed Artificial Intelligence at the corner of Hwy. 59 and E/W Beach Blvd to monitor traffic and the activity of passing vehicles.
It’s the only city in the state and one of just 40 in the country to use this particular AI system to monitor intersection activity.

The new system will help city leaders to use this high-tech tool to help analyze problems with traffic patterns and make decisions on the best safety-related changes to make.

Gulf Shores City Engineer Jenny Wolfschlag said that by reviewing the analytics, she can determine areas where speeds may need to be lowered due to traffic volume or recent collisions.
It can also help to determine if police need to conduct traffic enforcement to slow cars down, or they may need to look at other steps, such as an educational awareness campaign.

Gulf Shores is the first city in Alabama to put the DERQ-AI platform to work on the street, and Wolfschlag said it’s already proving its worth.

The integrated camera system does far more than monitor traffic flow in real time. It is also tied into the city’s Centrac’s software platform, allowing on the fly adjustments to signal timing based on the amount and direction of traffic. It can even track pedestrian traffic, something Wolfschlag sees as a valuable feature.

It costs the city around $40,000 per intersection to install the DERQ – AI platform. The hope is that they’ll be able to transition at least one intersection per year until the goal is reached.

Copyright 2025 Blue RAM Media. All rights reserved.