Not the state's business

Cedar Rapids Police Chief Greg Graham didn't think much of a bill filed by 12 Iowa senators that would do away with traffic enforcement cameras here and across the state.

“The system works. To take it away is ludicrous,” Graham said in a Sunday Gazette story.

We agree. The state should leave the issue to local leaders and their constituents. State intervention is neither appropriate or necessary.

It's true that not everyone likes the cameras at eight Cedar Rapids intersections and on I-380 through the city. It's not much fun to get a ticket in the mail after being caught speeding or running a red light. The cameras have generated complaints, sure.

But there's little evidence of a public groundswell against the cameras to warrant state legislative action.

In fact, a poll commissioned by Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett found that 63 percent of 400 residents surveyed believe the enforcement cameras are making the city safer. And 83 percent of those polled said they think the city has done enough to inform drivers about the camera program.

Lawmakers pushing for a ban say they haven't seen evidence the cameras are working. But Cedar Rapids officials have promising data that suggests, at least at this stage, that the camera program is making a positive impact on drivers' habits and roadway safety.

They've seen a nearly 16 percent drop in personal injury accidents in the city between 2009 and 2010 and a 36 percent drop in crashes on the I-380 S-curve through downtown. Red light-running incidents have dropped at seven of eight monitored intersections, according to police.

Beyond the surveys and crash data is the basic argument that it's Cedar Rapids citizens and leaders, not lawmakers in Des Moines, who should decide how best to police their roadways. Local governments are already hemmed in by a litany of state mandates and restrictions. A statewide traffic enforcement camera ban would amount to more state micromanaging of local affairs.

Our city council members and mayor are taking advice from the law officers who patrol the city's roads each day. They have a better handle on local problems needs than lawmakers in Des Moines. The Legislature should scrap the bill.