Traffic cameras still on; Cedar Rapids will decide quickly on next step

CEDAR RAPIDS - It won't take 30 days to know what will come of the city's traffic enforcement cameras on Interstate 380, Mayor Ron Corbett said Wednesday.

For now, the cameras will stay on after the Iowa Department of Transportation on Wednesday said the Iowa Attorney General's Office has concluded that the city has 30 days to act.

Steve Gent, director of traffic and safety for the DOT, had said on Tuesday that the DOT expected the city to turn off cameras on Wednesday or announce that it would sue the DOT in court.

The DOT has said it will not move to force the city to turn off cameras if the city goes to court until the court system rules on any lawsuit.

At the same time, Gent said the city of Davenport turned its cameras off back in 2005-2006 when it pursued a court case against the DOT.

On Tuesday, Corbett said he was 'leaning” toward taking the matter to court, but on Wednesday he said he and the City Council would take the next several days to make a decision.

Tuesday was the day the DOT rejected the city's appeal of a DOT order in April that called for the city to take down enforcement cameras from two spots near the S-curve on Interstate 380 and move cameras at two other spots there.

The city has estimated that it could lose $2.2 million of the $3 million in annual net revenue from its camera system if it complies with the DOT order.