Surveillance cameras costing $65,000 may be installed at the new Manteca transit station when construction is completed in 2012.

The Manteca City Council is hoping to secure a grant in that amount from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security. The money would come from a $19.9 billion state bond approved in 2006for transportation projects including those that enhance security of transit systems

Bus service as well as taxis will use the transit center as a hub. Plans call for the Altamont Commuter Express train to stop there as well if and when service is extended to Modesto.

The city has secured funding from other sources to put in place a fiber optic line from the public safety dispatch center at the Civic Center on Center Street to the transit station being built at Moffat Boulevard and South Main Street. There is also state money secured to install surveillance cameras at Library Park and Southside Park.

The system is being designed so additional cameras could be added at bus stops throughout Manteca as well as along streets such as Yosemite Avenue if elected leaders in the future desire to do so.

City Manager Karen McLaughlin noted the municipal technology staff is researching legal requirements for storing recorded images under state law. Once that is addressed the city will then secure the appropriate compute equipment to accommodate storage.