DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state judge has ruled that the Iowa Department of Transportation has the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic-enforcement cameras from highways and interstates.
The Des Moines Register reports that the ruling Thursday is in response to a request for judicial review filed by Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine in 2015. The cities made the request after the DOT ordered some speed cameras turned off because they did not make interstate highways safer.
The three cities had argued that the DOT was infringing on cities' ability to self-govern. But Judge Scott Rosenberg wrote that the DOT has the power to apply safety regulations on primary highways, and that the right doesn't interfere with cities' ability to enforce speed regulations.
A Des Moines official says the city will appeal.