Marion moves toward clearing the way for traffic cameras

MARION — Marion City Council members have advanced an ordinance that will open the door to deploying automatic traffic cameras in the city.

The traffic camera proposal initially was presented by Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller in council work session Feb. 21, saying the cameras would improve safety despite a police staffing shortage. An ordinance clearing the way to begin a local program passed its first consideration March 23. It again unanimously passed Thursday night, and now must go to a third consideration.

“Since this is second consideration, I will be voting yes for the sake of discussion moving forward, but that does not mean I’m a yes overall,” Gage Miskimen, who was appointed to the vacant Ward 1 seat in the council earlier during Thursday’s meeting. “I would really like to hear from as many residents as possible about this, knowing it’s an issue a lot of people are interested in.”

The next City Council meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. April 20, though it’s not yet clear if the third consideration will happen at that meeting.

The proposed ordinance does not specify which company the city would contract with to supply and maintain the cameras — or where the cameras would go. The proposal simply gives the city the option of installing them.

Kitsmiller said in his initial briefing that he would recommend cameras be placed at the intersection of Highways 13 and 151, and the intersection of Highway 100 and East Post Road, and that other locations could be determined “based upon statistical analysis of historic traffic patterns and current infractions or violations.”

One member of the public, Andrew Sneed, spoke during the public comment period about the proposal, saying he was in favor and would ask that a camera be installed along 29th Avenue, where he lives. He said speeding in the area is out of hand and he hoped a traffic camera could help end it.

“I believe it’s a great utilization of resources. I know that police officers are kind of hard to come by these days, and funding is also an issue as well, so it makes sense to have an automated traffic enforcement to assist,” Sneed said.

Kitsmiller said Thursday that Sneed’s concern represents a perfect scenario for a mobile traffic camera unit — which is also contemplated in the ordinance.

“It’ll be put out for 48 hours based on a complaint from a citizen just like that. We’ll put it out on social media 24 hours in advance, so we’re not hiding it from anybody, and we’ll move it around based off citizen complaints,” Kitsmiller said.

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The council asked several questions Thursday about how fine collections would work for the cameras. Kitsmiller said that if someone doesn’t pay a ticket, it could be pursued as a municipal infraction or sent to a collection agency.

Kitsmiller also said that if the traffic cameras are approved, the police department would come back to the City Council six months later to discuss data and see if there are any gaps in the system. Kitsmiller said that if there are any problems with the collections system, they could be discussed then and adjustments could be made.

“We will analyze it, understand what is the true impact. And then also, what are those options to make sure that we are enforcing and collecting as efficient and comprehensive as possibly,” Kitsmiller said.

Last summer, Cedar Rapids renewed its contract with Beverly, Mass.-based Sensys Gatso USA to extend operation of its automated traffic cameras through 2027. The city uses 15 traffic cameras to enforce speed violations at four locations along Interstate 380 and to monitor red-light and speeding violations at five intersections in the city.

Regulating or banning automated traffic cameras has been a perennial topic in the Iowa Legislature, but proposals have never passed. This month, proposals to regulate them or channel fines away from cities and to the state instead failed to clear a deadline for further consideration in the 2023 Legislature.

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