Iowa City Votes to Repeal Traffic Cameras and Outlaw Drones

The Iowa City city council voted 7-0 in favor of repealing traffic cameras in the city. Two more rounds of voting are required for the changes to take effect.

Traffic cameras are just part of the proposed changes. The Ceder Rapids Gazette reports:

The proposal also would add a new chapter to City Code that prohibits the use of automatic traffic-surveillance systems, drones and automatic license-plate readers unless a police officer or parking attendant is on the scene.

The vote was prompted when a petition was filed that sought to ban the cameras or have the public to vote on their use. You can read the ordnance here.

Aleksey Gurtovoy from the local group that filed the petition told the website Ars Technica that their initial focus was the red light cameras but they also were looking to the future.

“The city might say they have no plans [for drones or license plate readers] but it’s been our experience that this can change in a very short amount of time,” he said. “What usually happens is that someone comes into the city and says that [the city] could use this tech to ‘benefit’ the public.” ArsTechnica.com

Report from KCRG-TV