The way a traffic light at the bottom of Broadway in Jim Thorpe detects vehicles is about to change.

Jim Thorpe borough council approved the $4,197 purchase this month of a motion-detecting camera that will be placed on the signal.The governing body hopes the camera will keep traffic moving smoothly through the downtown's busiest intersection.Up until now, a wire under the blacktop detected vehicles pulling up to the Broadway light, triggering the signal to change to green and allowing turns to either direction of Route 209.According to borough officials, however, the wire sensor has malfunctioned multiple times over the years and is now "basically broken."When the sensor is not working, the light coming down from Broadway occasionally turns green even when there are no cars waiting to turn, causing trouble for those drivers sitting on Route 209."The wire is about an inch or so under the blacktop and every time the road wears down during the winter, it gets closer to the wire," Mayor Michael Sofranko said."It's just one of those things where PennDOT comes in and tells you that you need a traffic light, but the borough has to pay for it."Replacing the wire sensor would cost between $1,600 and $1,800, based on a quote received by the borough's police department."I think the cameras are a more permanent solution," Council President Greg Strubinger said. "The wire will be something we have to continually fix."The life span of the motion detecting cameras is 10 to 15 years. Sofranko said many municipalities across the state are choosing the cameras for that very reason.When a vehicle comes within the camera's field of view, the camera's processor detects a change in the "zone."An output is sent to the traffic signal's controller that says a vehicle is requesting green time for its direction.Drivers who cut it close when a traffic light changes from yellow to red need not panic. The camera is only for motion detection and will not take pictures of violators to send to police.The purchase will require shifting line items in the borough budget. The traffic light budget for 2015 is $2,000, of which $253 has already been spent.Although not an immediate concern, other traffic lights in the borough may require similar fixes in the future."The light coming down from Mansion House Hill and the light coming from the east side of town both have the wire sensor," Sofranko said. "They'll need addressed at some point."