Hunter
10/03/24
Earlier this week, KCJJ reported that the City of Cedar Rapids was granted permission by the DOT to operate only four fixed traffic control cameras out of 13 after a new law was passed earlier this year requiring cities to provide evidence to back up requests for their use.
The Department of Transportation didn’t just single out Cedar Rapids, it turns out.
The Gazette reports only 11 fixed automated traffic enforcement cameras in just five Iowa cities have been approved by the state, meaning the vast majority of the cameras were turned off Tuesday.
128 requests for fixed cameras were denied, leaving the four in Cedar Rapids, four in Davenport, and one each in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Le Claire.
Other requests for camera permits were denied in Buffalo, Charles City, Chester, Davenport, Des Moines, Fayette, Fredericksburg, Hazelton, Hudson, Independence, La Porte City, Le Claire, Lee County, Marshalltown, Maynard, Muscatine, Oelwein, Postville, Prairie City, Strawberry Point, Tama, Waterloo, Webster City and West Union.
The DOT used “not the least restrictive means” as a reason for most of the denials. Others were deemed not necessary.
27 were denied because the cameras were first turned on this year. The new law says they won’t be issued a permit until July 2026 at the earliest.