SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A camera observing a stop sign in Salem has gone viral online -- and it's popularity has not been easy on the residents of the neighborhood.
Carolyn Costain mounted the camera that she said was designed to draw attention to people constantly running the stop sign, which is located at the intersection in front of her house.
"The intention was to get the city's attention," Costain said.
But a live-stream of the camera's view wound up on the gamer platform Twitch -- and has since amassed 125,000 followers under the username "StopSignCam." The channel's title claims that 98.73 percent of vehicles who drive through the intersection do not stop at the stop sign.
Costain claims to not know how the live-stream ended up on the website -- despite it being her house and her camera.
The steam had been running for at least a year -- while neighbors in the area report people showing up to mug for the camera during that time -- and some even getting unwanted deliveries of hundreds of dollars of food every day for months.
One neighbor said he is concerned that drawing attention to the intersection will attract criminal activity.
"The [viewers] know the times that my kids get home, what times I get out of my house -- all the answers to burglars," he said.
Costain said she has taken down the live-stream out of respect to her neighbors. A post on her Facebook page claims she still has several house cameras around her property, including those with night vision.
"And if the city don't do anything about the problems up on our street? I will not only take all the video that was sent to [the Salem Police Department] and the city over the years but all the new video I save and take it over their heads to the state or higher," the post read. "Our taxes are paying to keep us safe and so far the city and SPD are failing at their job....and they have been failing at it for well over 25 years when it comes to traffic issues up here."
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@KarynRegal) reports.
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Written by Rachel Armany
(Photo: Getty Images)