Traffic cameras coming this summer to Marion

MARION — Two stationary traffic cameras and one on wheels are coming by this summer to Marion.

The City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a contract with Beverly, Mass.-based Sensys Gatso USA, to install and maintain two automated traffic cameras that monitor for speeding and red-light running, as well as for a mobile unit that monitors for speeding only.

In April, the council approved an ordinance that added language to the city code allowing for traffic cameras to be put in place.

Under the new contract, Sensys Gatso — the same company that operates traffic cameras for the city of Cedar Rapids — will install the stationary cameras at the intersection of Highway 151 and Highway 13, and at the intersection Highway 100 and East Post Road. The cameras will photograph, for citation, vehicles that run red lights at those intersections, and vehicles driving more than 5 mph over the speed limit.

The mobile unit will be deployed throughout the city in response to resident complaints about speeding. Notice of which area it will operate must be given on the police department’s social media pages and in print at city hall and the police station at least 12 hours before the camera unit is placed.

Fees for speeding caught by Marion traffic cameras

The cameras are expected to be installed and operational by June 30. There will be no upfront cost to the city, but Sensys Gato will receive $35 from every paid citation made through the traffic cameras.

In Cedar Rapids, Sensys Gato is paid $17 for each paid speeding citation and $22 for each paid red light citation.

The initial contract will last for five years, and may be extended after that on a two-year basis.

The city received one other proposal for the cameras, from Jenoptik. Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller recommended the city approve Sensys Gato for the contract. He answered council members’ questions Thursday over details of how the photos are taken and what happens if the license plate number is not clear in the photo.

Citations will be mailed out to the registered driver, and will include a link where the driver can see video footage of the traffic violation. If it is unclear what the license plate number is, even from video, no citation will be issued, Kitsmiller said. He anticipates that may happen occasionally, but not often.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com