Grinnell to install speed cameras along I-80 corridor on southern edge of city limits

RIGHT NOW. GOOD EVENING. NEW TONIGHT SPEED CAMERAS ARE COMING TO NEWTON. THE CITY PLANS TO INSTALL THE CAMERAS ON I-80 ON ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS STRETCHES OF THE INTERSTATE. KCCI BEAU BOWMAN SHOWS US THE FIGHT FROM RESIDENTS AND THE ROADBLOCKS IN THE STATEHOUSE TONIGHT. BO. THE CITY OF NEWTON SAYS THEY WANT TO CRACK DOWN ON SPEEDERS ON ONE OF IOWA’S MOST DANGEROUS STRETCH OF ROADS. I-80 ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF NEWTON. BUT SOME PEOPLE IN TOWN AND ALL ACROSS IOWA SAY THAT SPEED CAMERAS ARE JUST A MONEY GRAB. THE RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED IN A CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SPEED CAMERA PROJECT. ROAD SIGNS ALONG I-80 MARKED THE ROAD AS A SAFETY CORRIDOR, CLAIMING IT’S IN THE TOP 1% OF ALL CRASHES OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND THE CITY SAYS THEIR POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS RESPOND TO AN AVERAGE 210 INCIDENTS AND CRASHES A YEAR. I DON’T THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO DO THAT. I THINK IT’S JUST A MONEY GRAB. OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED SIMILAR SPEED CAMERAS HAVE SEEN A HUGE BOOST IN REVENUE. A KCCI REPORT LAST YEAR FOUND THAT PRAIRIE CITY’S NEW CAMERAS IN TOWN AND ON HIGHWAY 163 COLLECTED $1.7 MILLION FOR THE CITY IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2022. THE IOWA DOT’S WEBSITE SHOWS. ON AVERAGE, I-80 AT NEWTON SEES MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE TRAFFIC THAT DRIVES BY PRAIRIE CITY, ACCORDING TO THEIR LAST TRAFFIC COUNT CONDUCTED IN 2022. A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM EVEN OUT OF TOWN GO SUPER, SUPER FAST, AND IT’S LIKE DANGEROUSLY FAST, THE CITY SAYS IT COULD TAKE AT LEAST SIX MONTHS OF SETUP BEFORE THE CAMERAS ARE OPERATIONAL, AND AFTER THEY’RE TURNED ON THE FIRST 30 DAYS WILL ONLY ISSUE WARNINGS. THE CITY SAYS REVENUE COLLECTED FROM THE CAMERAS WOULD ONLY BE USED TO PAY EMPLOYEES TO WORK THE CAMERA BY PUBLIC SAFETY VEHICLES, AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE NEWTON POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, AND FUND A ONE TIME STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. I THINK THEY’RE A GOOD IDEA, PEOPLE DRIVE LIKE CRAZY HERE. THE STATE LEGISLATURE IS CONSIDERING A BILL THAT WOULD BAN SPEED. CAMERAS ACROSS IOWA. SOME HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PASS THAT BILL FOR SEVEN YEARS. SOME SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE HOPEFUL THIS YEAR COULD BE THE YEAR IT HAPPENS. IT’S ALWAYS HARD TO PREDICT TRAFFIC FOR CAMERAS, YOU KNOW, FOR SEVEN YEARS WE’VE HAD A CERTAIN PART OF OUR CAUCUS TRYING TO BAN THE TRAFFIC CAMERAS AND WE HAVE A DIFFERENT PART THAT WANTS TO JUST REGULATE THEM. UM, AND THAT ALONE IS HARD ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT. NOW, THE CITY COUNCIL WAS ADVISED THAT IF THE STATE DOES END UP BANNING SPEED CAMERAS ALL ACROSS IOWA, THAT THEIR CONTRACT WITH THE SPEED CAMERA COMPANY WOULD BE NULL AND VOID IN NEWTON BEAU BOWMAN KCCI EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. AND NEWTON WON’T BE THE ONLY CITY ALONG I-80 WITH SPEED CAMERAS. GRINNELL IS ALSO ADDING CAMERAS AND A MOBILE UNIT BY THIS SPRING. MORE THAN A DOZEN IOWA CITIES HAVE HIRED THE SAME SWEDISH COMPANY TO RUN THE PROJECT THAT GRINNELL IS HIRING. SENSYS GATSO. WE’VE REACHED OUT TO THE CITY FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE PROJECTS, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD BACK. KCCI. INVESTIGATES LOOKED INTO ONE CITY THAT WAS CASHING IN ON THE SPEED CAMERAS. PRAIRIE CITY COLLECTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FINES IN RECENT YEARS. YOU CAN LOOK FOR OUR FULL REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE

Speed cameras along Interstate 80 on the southern edge of Grinnell could be rolling on traffic as early as this spring.Grinnell's city council approved the resolution to contract Sensys Gatso USA Inc. for the job on Dec. 4, 2023, according to meeting minutes on the city website. A press release from the company confirms there will be multiple cameras on the roadway as well as a vehicle that can sense traffic violations while driving.Video above: Newton also plans to install speed cameras on I-80The addition comes after years of concern about dangers along the highway corridor. Signs along the highway because of the high volume of incidents along it each year. According to a 2018 study from the Iowa DOT, the stretch of I-80 from Grinnell to US-63 was classified as a one of five "crash hot spots" along the interstate in Iowa. “These traffic safety cameras will make our roadways significantly safer by changing driver behavior,” Grinnell's police chief, Mike McClelland, said in a statement. “The police department is experiencing an overall shortage of officers due to many reasons. To counter this shortage, we must look to technologies to assist us in keeping our community’s quality of life where it should be.”The addition could also help Grinnell's budget. Other cities across Iowa with similar systems profited from ticketing after installing the speed cameras. Last year, a KCCI investigation KCCI found that Prairie City made $1.7 million ticketing drivers using speed cameras on Highway 63 during the 2022 fiscal year.Cameras monitoring traffic along the intended area for Grinnell's project will see almost three times the average daily traffic compared to the ones in Prairie City, increasing the potential profits. However, residents in the city said they have mixed feelings about the plan."I do feel kind of 50-50 that it is kind of entrapment, but then part of me also feels that we do need some of it, especially on the interstate because people do go pretty fast," Sheila Diehm said.

Speed cameras along Interstate 80 on the southern edge of Grinnell could be rolling on traffic as early as this spring.

Grinnell's city council approved the resolution to contract Sensys Gatso USA Inc. for the job on Dec. 4, 2023, according to meeting minutes on the city website. A press release from the company confirms there will be multiple cameras on the roadway as well as a vehicle that can sense traffic violations while driving.

Video above: Newton also plans to install speed cameras on I-80

The addition comes after years of concern about dangers along the highway corridor. Signs along the highway because of the high volume of incidents along it each year. According to a 2018 study from the Iowa DOT, the stretch of I-80 from Grinnell to US-63 was classified as a one of five "crash hot spots" along the interstate in Iowa.

“These traffic safety cameras will make our roadways significantly safer by changing driver behavior,” Grinnell's police chief, Mike McClelland, said in a statement. “The police department is experiencing an overall shortage of officers due to many reasons. To counter this shortage, we must look to technologies to assist us in keeping our community’s quality of life where it should be.”

The addition could also help Grinnell's budget. Other cities across Iowa with similar systems profited from ticketing after installing the speed cameras. Last year, a KCCI investigation KCCI found that Prairie City made $1.7 million ticketing drivers using speed cameras on Highway 63 during the 2022 fiscal year.

Cameras monitoring traffic along the intended area for Grinnell's project will see almost three times the average daily traffic compared to the ones in Prairie City, increasing the potential profits.

However, residents in the city said they have mixed feelings about the plan.

"I do feel kind of 50-50 that it is kind of entrapment, but then part of me also feels that we do need some of it, especially on the interstate because people do go pretty fast," Sheila Diehm said.

Grinnell to install speed cameras along I-80 corridor on southern edge of city limits

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