TOPEKA (KSNT) – State transportation officials took down some features of an online traffic information service in Topeka during a recent visit from Vice President JD Vance. But will they do the same for President Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Salina?
Vance recently visited the Capital City on Monday, Oct. 26 for an afternoon midterm rally at HME Inc. – Haas Group. During his visit, publicly available traffic cameras set up in different parts of the City of Topeka that are part of online traffic monitoring service KanDrive.gov were disabled. People can tune in to these cameras to observe certain highway areas around the city.
KanDrive.gov is operated by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). The service is meant to provide drivers with up-to-date information on current traffic conditions, weather impacts, closures, road work projects and more.
We got in touch with KDOT this week to find out more about the temporary shutdown and if Trump’s upcoming rally in Salina will result in a similar temporary shutdown of local KanDrive traffic cameras.
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KDOT spokeswoman Kate Craft said cameras in the Topeka area were shut down from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 as Vance visited the city for the midterm rally, traveling to and from the venue with his motorcade after landing at the Topeka Regional Airport. She said the traffic cameras were the only feature on KanDrive that was disabled as part of Vance’s visit to Topeka.
“Cameras were the only feature that were disabled on KanDrive during this time,” Craft said. “Highway message boards were operating and used to notify drivers about traffic congestion ahead.”
Trump is currently scheduled to hold a rally in Salina, his second in the Sunflower State this month, on Sunday, Nov. 1 just days before the general election. The rally will be held at the Salina Regional Airport.
“At this time, KDOT does not have any plans to disable any of the KanDrive cameras in the Salina area over the weekend,” said Ashley Perez, KDOT public information officer. “All VIP visits have specific security needs and are evaluated on an individual basis.”
Topeka has around 20 KanDrive cameras that people can access. By comparison, only two are in the Salina area.
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