Iowa City interested in discussing traffic cameras

IOWA CITY – Don't hit the brakes yet because the outcome is far from certain, but City Council members in Iowa City are interested in discussing red-light and speeding cameras.

City Manager Tom Markus on Thursday put an informational handout on traffic enforcement cameras in the packet that goes to council members weekly. He said in an interview his intent was to spur conversation on the topic but declined to take a stance for or against them.

A majority of the council told SourceMedia Group they'd be interested in at least having the discussion. They were mixed, though, in their opinions on the cameras.

Connie Champion, for one, said traffic cameras smacked too much of a Big Brother-like intrusion

“I just have some problems with it,” she said.

Mike Wright, on the other hand, would be in favor of installing the cameras.

“I think it's a safety issue,” he said. “If there's a way that we can cite people that are running a red light and get the message across that you're not supposed to do that, I'm all for it.”

If that happened, Iowa City would join a handful of other communities in the state with traffic enforcement cameras, including Cedar Rapids and Davenport.

Such cameras were the subject of a legal battle that reached the Iowa Supreme Court, which in 2008 approved their use. They continue to be controversial.

In Cedar Rapids, they have added to the city's coffers and appear to have changed drivers' behaviors. There are speeding cameras along Interstate 380 and red-light cameras at eight intersections in Cedar Rapids.

In the first seven months after cameras were first installed last spring, there were 55,308 citations for speeding and 2,892 for red-light violations. That generated nearly $1.6 million in revenue for the city and $1 million for its camera vendor, Gatso USA.

Red-light citations from cameras dropped 60 percent in that time, and speeding citations on I-380 at Diagonal Drive, where a camera was installed in May, declined by 55 percent in the first five months.

Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said he'd support installing cameras on certain Iowa City streets to boost public safety. He also said it could help the city financially and noted that next fiscal year's budget calls for the elimination of a police officer position.

“From what I understand, not too many people get excited by raising taxes, so this is a method of raising revenue that I think needs to be explored,” he said.

Markus also cited public safety and budgetary reasons for wanting the council to discuss the issue. In addition to the cuts next fiscal year, Markus, who started with Iowa City in December, has said he'll take a detailed look at each department's staffing and spending levels heading into next year.

“I think you're gong to have to look at all sorts of aspects with how we do business going forward with the trend lines that we pointed out in terms of our budget,” he said. “I think we're going to have to consider a lot of different things that maybe on the face of it people don't really want to, to begin with.”

Council member Susan Mims also gave a nod to the controversy that's sure to follow. She's not sure how she would vote.

“I think we need to look at how they're used other places, how we would use them here, and why,” she said.

Council member Terry Dickens also said he'd need more information. He said he's not a fan of the cameras but possibly could support them at a few of the city's most dangerous intersections.

“I'm not big into just giving tickets, but if it causes a few less accidents, it may be worth it,” he said.