Cities preparing to justify traffic cameras to Iowa DOT

DES MOINES — Cities and the state transportation department are busy preparing for new state regulations governing automated traffic enforcement cameras in Iowa.

Under the new state law, which was approved by state lawmakers and signed into law May 17 by Gov. Kim Reynolds, local governments must obtain a permit from the Iowa Department of Transportation to deploy automated traffic cameras that are used to identify and cite drivers who violate speed limits or red lights.

All new automated traffic cameras will require a permit, and existing cameras are grandfathered in only until Oct. 1. Towns, cities and counties operating existing traffic cameras must apply by July 1 to obtain an Iowa DOT permit to continue using them beyond October.

That means local governments, like the city of Cedar Rapids, are now preparing their applications. The city is redoing its citation fee structure to comply with the new law, with a public hearing Tuesday.

And the Iowa DOT is preparing to likely receive and process dozens of, if not several hundred, of the traffic camera applications.

As of January, at least 25 Iowa cities were operating automated traffic cameras, according to the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. The agency was unable to determine how many cameras are operating in the state but did count 112 cameras in 10 Iowa cities that had definitive data.

How it will work

When applying for a traffic camera permit, cities must provide data, including traffic and crash figures, that illustrate why each traffic camera is needed in that location.

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The Iowa DOT will determine whether a traffic camera is appropriate and necessary and the least restrictive means to address traffic safety issues at each location. A permit must be obtained for each camera.

An Iowa DOT official said the department will be prepared and able to process all traffic camera applications by Oct. 1.

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“We are confident that all applications for existing systems that are received by July 1 will be reviewed and responded to by the Oct. 1 deadline,” said Chris Poole, state traffic engineer in the Iowa DOT’s Traffic and Safety Bureau.

Poole said the department is evaluating whether it will require additional staff in order to manage its new duties.

Poole said the rule-making process — which all state agencies undergo when they are responsible for enforcing new state laws — will take the rest of this year. However, Poole said the new state law clearly states the requirements for traffic cameras.

Poole said the Iowa DOT also plans to create an advisory committee and seek input from it during the permitting process.

“So we will be following what’s written in the law,” he said.

In Cedar Rapids

The city of Cedar Rapids operates 15 automated traffic enforcement cameras at nine locations, enforcing speed limit and red light laws, according to city information.

The city will be applying for permits for all of those cameras, a spokesperson for the City Manager’s Office said.

Asked if the city is confident that the data its application will justify retention of all its traffic cameras, the spokesperson said only that the city’s application will include the data required by the new law.

Amanda Grieder, assistant to the Cedar Rapids city manager, recently told The Gazette the traffic camera locations will not change and she does not anticipate difficulty getting them approved.

Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller expressed similar confidence in the Iowa DOT approval of his city’s two traffic cameras.

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According to Cedar Rapids’ most recent annual report on traffic cameras, crashes on the Interstate 380 S-curve through downtown have decreased since the cameras were deployed there.

In the three years before the cameras were deployed, an average of 5.3 crashes per month were recorded on the S-curve. Since 2019, the average has been 2.8 crashes per month, according to city data.

Cedar Rapids also is preparing to operate its cameras under new state regulations that dictate when a citation can be issued and how much a citation can cost.

Under the new law, cameras can be used only to cite drivers who fail to yield or stop at a traffic signal-controlled intersection or a railroad crossing, or who exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph. Local authorities must review and approve a record of the alleged traffic violation captured by a traffic camera before a citation is issued.

Also under the new law, traffic camera citations cannot exceed $75 for speeds between 11 and 20 mph over the speed limit, $100 for speeds between 21 and 25 mph over the speed limit, $250 for speeds between 26 and 30 mph over the speed limit, and $500 for speeds 31 mph or more over the speed limit. Those limits are doubled for violations in construction zones.

Tuesday hearing

Currently, Cedar Rapids traffic camera fines — at least on paper — can start as low as 1 mph over the speed limit, though the city has said in the past that most citations begin at 11 mph over the posted limit. Also, some of the citations now exceed the dollar limits set in the new law.

A recent memo from City Manager Jeff Pomeranz to council members and other city staff said the city is revising its fee structure and enforcement measures to comply with the new state law.

A public hearing on the city’s traffic regulations regarding traffic cameras has been scheduled for Tuesday.

The new law also requires local governments to spend their share of the revenue from traffic camera citations on transportation infrastructure or on police or fire department operations.

Cedar Rapids, according to the city’s annual report, has budgeted $7.2 million for traffic camera revenue in its 2025 budget year. Of that, $5.5 million will fund 41 police officer positions, and $1.7 million will cover traffic camera service provider and collection costs, according to the report.

Iowa’s 377 traffic deaths in 2023 were the state’s most since 2016, and the state’s 11.2 percent increase in vehicle-related deaths from 2022 to 2023 was the nation’s fourth-highest, according to a recent federal report.

The new law, House File 2681, passed the Iowa Legislature with broad, bipartisan support. It passed the Iowa Senate, 46-1, and the House, 85-12.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com