Home Local News COURT RULING SAYS IOWA D-O-T CANNOT BAN TRAFFIC CAMERAS

COURT RULING SAYS IOWA D-O-T CANNOT BAN TRAFFIC CAMERAS

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Iowa’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state Department of Transportation does not have the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic-enforcement cameras from highways and interstates.

That reversed a decision last April by a state judge that found the department did have that authority.

The ruling comes on an appeal from the cities of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine of the state judge’s ruling.

Sioux City had previously taken the Department of Transportation to court over the traffic cameras and Mayor Bob Scott is pleased with the Supreme Court ruling:

OC……..common sense there. :20

Scott hopes that the state legislature, cities and the D-O-T can now work out an effective partnership for using the cameras:

OC………..public very well. :23

The cities had sought the judicial review in 2015 after the D-O-T had ordered some speed cameras turned off, stating that the cameras did not make interstate highways safer.

The cities argued that the D-O-T was infringing on their ability to self-govern and that it lacked statutory authority to make rules regulating the speed cameras.

The Supreme Court remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with their opinion.