Lawmaker asking if cameras in Iowa are justified

The Iowa Legislature is unlikely to ban traffic cameras, but a key lawmaker is raising a caution flag.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Dave Tjepkes, R-Gowrie, has asked the state Department of Transportation for information about how states regulate the use of traffic cameras, such as those being used in Cedar Rapids.

Concerned that cameras are used simply to generate revenue, Tjepkes wants to make sure cities can justify when and where they are installed. Use of cameras should be based on at least three years of data, he said.

Tjepkes, a retired Iowa State Patrol trooper, acknowledges the positive benefits of the cameras. He wants to make sure, however, that they are being used as a tool in an overall traffic enforcement plan and that their use is uniform across the state.

In Cedar Rapids, Police Capt. Steve O'Konek believes those standards have been met. The cameras are on Interstate 380 and city streets, places where data showed high incidences of crashes because of red-light running and speeding.

O'Konek welcomes Tjepkes' interest. “To be fair, the state should be involved,” he said.

Tjepkes' interest was triggered by the Missouri DOT putting a freeze on new red-light cameras on state highways, because of concern they were being used to make money rather than enhance traffic safety.

He also called it “excessive” that $1 million of the $2.5 million generated by the cameras in Cedar Rapids in their first seven months went to a private vendor.

Cedar Rapids received $1,583,225 in revenue from the cameras during the first sevens months after they were installed. Another $1,017,900 went to camera vendor Gatso USA, a Beverly, Mass.-based firm.

In the city's draft fiscal 2012 budget, Cedar Rapids officials anticipate taking in $3.1 million from the traffic cameras. The vendor is projected to get $1.1 million, leaving the city with $2 million in revenue from the cameras.

According to Gatso, the number of red-light citations issued by traffic cameras in Cedar Rapids dropped by 60 percent in the first seven months.

“It's never been about generating revenue,” O'Konek said, “but I would be lying to say there isn't a revenue component that has changed driver behavior. Changing behavior was a goal.”

Still, a recent survey, funded by Mayor Ron Corbett, characterized the traffic cameras as helping “reduce traffic violations creating a safer city while providing much needed revenue.” More than 63 percent of respondents agreed.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said driver behavior has changed on Interstate 380, which runs through his district. He agrees with Tjepkes there should be some standard justification for deploying the cameras.

He noted, though, that although some states - Maine, Mississippi and Montana - have prohibited their use, Iowa lawmakers declined to enact a ban in 2009.

In Missouri, where the Legislature has never authorized their use, the DOT endorsed cameras. It recommended a police officer sign off on violations before the vendor mails them to the vehicle owner; cities conduct public awareness campaigns; erect signs at camera locations warning drivers of their presence; and cities submit violation and accident data to the DOT.

In Cedar Rapids, most of those policies are in place, said O'Konek. An officer signs off on violations, and all locations are identified on the city's website and by signs at the camera locations.

“It shouldn't be a secret,” O'Konek said. “We want to alert drivers this is a high-crash area, so they should drive accordingly.”

O'Konek acknowledges the cameras are not universally popular.

“We've taken a beating from the public,” he said, “but we're saving lives.”