Better slow down, Des Moines' I-235 camera is coming back, and so are the speeding tickets

Makayla Tendall | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Iowa Poll: Iowans slightly favor banning traffic cameras A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows that most Iowans would prefer to have traffic cameras banned.

Drivers beware, Des Moines is bringing back the I-235 speed camera.

Starting June 25, the city will once again start issuing citations using its automated speed radar camera on the highly traveled portion of interstate.

The I-235 camera on monitors traffic in the eastbound lanes near Waveland Golf Course, between 56th Street and Polk Boulevard.

Citations have not been issued since April 26, 2017, following an order from the Polk County District Court.

But on April 27, 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling that the Iowa Department of Transportation did not have the authority to regulate the cameras, allowing cities to use the speed cameras.

Though the I-235 speed camera was not recording speeding violations, it was collecting speed data for analysis, according to a Tuesday news release from the Des Moines Police Department.

"A significant increase in speeding violations was noticed," according to the release.

The city will resume issuing citations using the I-235 speed camera beginning at 12:01 a.m. June 25.

Citations are issued when vehicles travel 11 mph over the posted 60 mph speed limit.

The fines remain the same:

$65 for speed violations between 11 to 15 mph over the posted speed limit;

$75 for speed violations 16 to 20 mph over;

$80, plus $2 for every mph 21 mph over the speed limit.

Speeding increases

Speeding increased while the camera was turned off, according to data gathered by Gatso, the private company contracted to operate the cameras.

Between January 1, 2017, and April 25, 2017, there were 31,497 drivers traveling 71 mph or faster.

While the cameras were not issuing citations from January 1 to May 22, 2018, there were 122,594 instances of drivers speeding faster than 71 mph in the 60 mph zone. That's an increase of 91,097 instances when a citation would have been issued.

While the camera was turned on, the top rate of speed in the fast lane was 99 mph.

From January 1 to May 22, 2018, the highest rate of speed was 103 mph, according to the data.

Court rulings on cameras

Enforcement of automated traffic cameras has been a topic of debate since 2015. The Iowa DOT ordered that 10 of state's 34 automated traffic enforcement cameras on or adjacent to Iowa highways must be shut down. The department said the cameras were not effective in making roads safer.

The order sparked a judicial review. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine officials argued that the DOT was infringing on the cities' rights to self-govern.

In April 2017, a Polk County judge ruled that the DOT had the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic enforcement cameras from highways and interstates.

But this past April, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a 6-0 decision that the department had overstepped its authority and cannot regulate traffic cameras without authorization from the Legislature.

Tickets contribute to city budget

Between 2011 and 2017, 279,933 tickets were issued by the camera, according to a Des Moines Register analysis of state traffic data in 2018.

The data show that vehicle crashes near three automated traffic enforcement cameras were cut in half after Des Moines installed the cameras in 2011.

Meanwhile, revenue from Des Moines traffic cameras makes up a portion of the city's budget. Between the 2012 and 2017 budget years, citations from the city's nine cameras generated more than $20 million, according to the Des Moines Police Department.

More: Do traffic cameras reduce crashes? Here's what the data show

Decision made

Des Moines officials had to weigh whether the blowback from I-235 drivers was worth turning the camera back on, said Sgt. Paul Parizek.

City administrators, police and the city's legal department discussed the data, how valuable of a tool the cameras are and the impact they make to public safety. City officials were not immediately able to answer whether the city council provided input.

Though Parizek said he didn't have data on the number of crashes that occurred before and after the time citations were issued, he believes the increase in speeding shows that the cameras are necessary.

"It's frustrating that people need to see blood and guts before they recognize value in prevention," Parizek said. "The cameras encourage voluntary compliance. There are always going to be crashes because of weather, equipment failure, or speed. If we can do one thing that prevents or reduces the number of speeders, we're definitely going to reduce if a crash occurs."

The stretch of eastbound lanes on the interstate that the camera covers has shoulders too narrow for Des Moines police officers to safely pull drivers over for traffic enforcement, Parizek said.

He said officials also know that some naysayers think the city is out to garner additional revenue from ticket fines.

"For those who think it's a money-grab, don't give us your money — just don't speed," Parizek said.