Most Iowa cities instructed to remove traffic cameras expected to appeal decision

Five of six cities under orders by the Iowa Department of Transportation to take down or move parts of their automated traffic camera program are expected to appeal, some contending the DOT used incomplete information and overstepped its bounds.

The agency said last month that 10 of 34 cameras didn't enhance safety and need to be removed. Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City, Muscatine and Council Bluffs are expected to challenge the order.

'I questioned their findings because I think our statistics show there has been a reduction in accidents,” Des Moines City Council member Bob Mahaffey. 'If the cameras are not there, people pretty much have an open speed limit.”

The Iowa DOT, which oversees Iowa's primary highway system including interstates, enacted rules in February 2014 governing traffic camera use, with an emphasis on safety over revenue. This came after the Legislature considered banning the cameras outright.

Cities say the cameras have reduced crashes, and objected to the DOT rules because they view it as a local control issue.

Des Moines was told to remove its cameras on eastbound Interstate 235, which cited 43,000 drivers last year, but two others could stay. Des Moines City Attorney Jeff Lester said Thursday he wasn't prepared yet to state the grounds for an appeal, but one would be forthcoming.

Sioux City, which is suing the Iowa DOT over how the rules governing the cameras were established, has filed an injunction to not have to appeal, Mayor Bob Scott said. If it's not granted, the city will appeal the DOT directive, which bans four cameras while allowing two others.

In Cedar Rapids, the City Council will vote Tuesday on a recommendation from the police department to appeal.

Muscatine City Administrator Gregg Mandsager is preparing to submit an appeal next week challenging the order to remove cameras at University Drive and Highway 61 westbound while allowing three others.

'It was incomplete information. It was vague. It was incorrect,” Mandsager said. 'And, we believe the DOT is outside their scope of authority.”

Council Bluffs has already submitted an appeal against turning off a red light camera at South Expressway and 30th Avenue, which is its busiest intersection, according to the appeal. Seven other camera locations were allowed.

Davenport is the only city not appealing.

The DOT ordered Davenport, the city using traffic cameras the longest, to turn off red light cameras at Kimberly Road and Elmore Avenue, but five others could stay.

The five other cities are expected to leave the cameras programs operational while waiting for a ruling by the DOT.

The appeal will ultimately go to Iowa DOT Director Paul Trombino, who will make a ruling within 30 days, said Steve Gent, the agency's traffic and safety director,

Depending on his ruling, the next step of the appeal process would be district court, he said.

So the cameras could remain operational for some time if the DOT sticks to its ruling and the cities appeal in court. Some are already considering that possibility.

'I'm not going to speak for the council, but it is our intent to go through the whole process,” Muscatine's Mandsager said. 'We don't think the DOT has the authority to regulate these.”