Court: DOT can order speed cameras removed from highways

The Iowa Department of Transportation has the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic enforcement cameras from highways and interstates, a Polk County judge has ruled.

The ruling is in response to a request for judicial review filed by Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine in 2015 after the transportation department ordered some speed cameras turned off because they did not make interstate highways or nearby intersections safer.

Des Moines will appeal the decision, a city official told the Des Moines Register.

Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine officials had argued that the DOT was infringing on cities’ ability to self-govern, a right guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution. Officials also argued that the DOT did not have the authority to decide how police officers enforced speed regulations and that state officials failed to consider relevant information when they ordered removal of the cameras.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2017/04/27/iowa-dot-can-order-speed-cameras-removed-highways-court-rules/307287001/