Bank, residents pan latest DOT Springville intersection plans
Three Iowa Department of Transportation proposals to improve a dangerous intersection at the entrance to Springville off Highway 151 were largely rejected at a public meeting Wednesday...
View ArticleIowa City residents continue effort to ban traffic cameras
As speed and red-light cameras continue to be debated at the Statehouse, a citizen’s group is persisting in its push to essentially ban the cameras in Iowa City.Iowa City residents Aleksey Gurtovoy and...
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Iowa Transportation Department website will accept payment of civil penalties
The Iowa Department of Transportation has begun accepting online payment of civil penalties by suspended and revoked drivers through the agency’s website at https://mymvd.iowadot.gov.Iowa law requires...
View ArticleBill would extend specialty license plates to Iowa non-profit groups
Non-profit organizations in Iowa might have a better shot at getting specialty license plates promoting their particular mission under a bill expected to get legislative consideration this week.A...
View ArticleSenate approves special license plate space for decals
DES MOINES – The Iowa Senate voted 50-0 Tuesday to authorize the state Department of Transportation to issue special vehicle registration plates that will contain a space to place a DOT-approved decal...
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Linn, Johnson county road projects part of DOT construction season
The five-in-one dam (top) under Interstate 380 and the First Avenue bridge over the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids on Saturday, May 30, 2011, in northeast Cedar Rapids. (SourceMedia Group...
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Iowa lawmakers eye expanded ATV operation
Law enforcement officers use an ATV to drive through a field in Hickory Hill Park Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. (Brian Ray/The Gazette) DES MOINES – All-terrain vehicles could be licensed to operate on...
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Senate approves online Iowa driver’s license renewals
Eligible drivers between the ages of 18 and 72 years would be eligible to renew their Iowa operator’s licenses electronically every other time under legislation that cleared the Iowa Senate on...
View ArticleIowa farm equipment-related road crashes killed 12 in 2012
As the planting season approaches, the Iowa Department of Transportation is warning motorists to be aware of slower-moving farm equipment, noting that 12 people were killed in 2012 due to collisions...
View ArticleGov. Branstad signs changes for Iowa drivers
DES MOINES – Beginning and novice drivers will face more restrictions designed to improve safety on Iowa roadways under legislation signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad on Wednesday.Senate File 115...
View ArticleIowa City may repeal traffic-camera law
A petition challenging traffic-enforcement cameras in Iowa City is valid, but the portion of it covering cameras is not timely, yet the city may repeal its camera ordinance anyway.Oh, and cameras are...
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State to sell former DOT district office in Cedar Rapids
The former Iowa Department of Transportation district headquarters at 430 16th Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids and 2.15 acres of land will be sold at auction on June 6. The two-story, 7,680-square-foot...
View ArticleRail money stripped from Iowa infrastructure bill
Funding to expand passenger rail service in eastern Iowa and upgrade rail freight lines in Iowa fell victim to 11th-hour budget wrangling in the Iowa Legislature.House Republican negotiators stripped...
View ArticleSome legislative potholes, too
By The Gazette Editorial Board—Iowa legislators and Gov. Branstad achieved impressive, even landmark, bipartisan legislation this spring, hammering out reforms in education, commercial property tax and...
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DOT says pond-building effort is working for turtles
Terry VanDeWalle, a senior biologist with Stantec, holds up a snapping turtle found in a turtle trap at the old turtle pond adjacent to Rock Island Preserve on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Cedar...
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Iowa drivers license practice test available for Kindle
Iowa DOT's driver's license test is now available on Kindle. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)If you own a Kindle tablet, you can take the practice Iowa drivers license test.The Iowa Department of Transportation...
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Annual growth is a good start
By Mark Jacobs—- The education reform bill that recently passed the Iowa Legislature is an important victory for Iowa’s children and a step in the right direction toward regaining our leadership in...
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Iowa DOT using facial recognition technology
A method of facial mapping is demonstrated in Clearwater, Fla., on June 4, 2013, by Scott McCallum, systems analyst and co-administrator of the facial recognition program for the Pinellas County...
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Not all Eastern Iowa communities want bridge funding
The Big Creek Road one-lane bridge over Big Creek is shown on Wednesday, July 3, 2013, in Bertram, Iowa. The bridge is near the top of a state bridge replacement program, but Bertram has turned down...
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Over 3,200 government vehicles can avoid Iowa traffic cam citations
A view of Interstate 380 from the 7th street bridge. (The Gazette) More than 3,200 government vehicles cannot be ticketed by cities with traffic cameras because the cars and trucks aren’t listed in...
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Lax system allows undercover license plates to be misused
A red Jeep used by Cedar Rapids police for a mobile speed camera is parked on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 380 in May 2010. The Iowa Department of Transportation is asking more than 350 local,...
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Linn County plates clogging New York neighborhood
A van with Linn County license plates sits across the street in Brooklyn, NY, from a New York City taxi cab. Photo submitted by Art HackettA large number of Linn County license plates started showing...
View ArticleGov. Branstad’s SUV will now be fair game for traffic cameras
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s SUV will no longer be under the radar.The license plate number on a state-owned Chevy Tahoe used to transport Branstad will now be included in computerized files that can be...
View ArticleTraffic cameras: No ‘veto’ power for DOT
By The Gazette Editorial Board—- It’s up to local police to enforce traffic laws on city streets, including state highways and freeways that run through their jurisdiction. Local government provides...
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Semis, others with no rear plates can avoid Iowa traffic camera tickets
More than 50,000 Iowa-based vehicles – mostly semis, trucks and buses – that conduct business across state lines don’t have rear license plates, which means they can’t be ticketed by traffic...
View ArticleAudit shows another $195,000 linked to alleged Iowa DOT land sales scheme
State auditors have identified another $195,000 in improper payments in an alleged money-laundering and kickback scheme linked to Iowa Department of Transportation land sales.Three men, including a...
View ArticleBranstad defends proposed Iowa DOT traffic camera rules
State transportation officials are “clearly within their authority” to set regulations for speed and red-light traffic enforcement cameras placed along state highways and interstates, Gov. Terry...
View ArticleBranstad supports finishing four-lane U.S. 20 link in western Iowa
DES MOINES — Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he is supportive of a state senator’s call for making U.S. 20 a four-lane highway across Iowa, but he noted that funding issues first must be decided that...
View ArticleDOT review: Some Iowa undercover license plates are missing, misused
A review of nearly 3,200 undercover license plates in Iowa showed 167 are missing, 46 are used on vehicles that don’t need to be undercover and 18 are used for purposes not intended by law.The Iowa...
View ArticleIowa DOT chief: Not ready to endorse transportation revenue option
AMES – Iowa’s transportation chief said Tuesday he has had positive discussions with state legislators and stakeholder groups about possible options to generate more revenue to address critical...
View ArticleFewer traffic deaths on Iowa roads so far this year
AMES – Iowa roadways continue to be safer places to drive.Motorists traversing highways in Iowa are on track to post another year of below-average traffic deaths, possibly the lowest toll since...
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Stretch of I-380 in Cedar Rapids treated with polymer sees reduction in crashes
A new pavement treatment used on the S curve of Interstate 380 in Cedar Rapids reduced crashes in its first year, causing Iowa transportation officials to consider using the treatment in other...
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Road problems await fixes
By Tod Bowman—- Iowa’s roads and bridges are in bad shape. That can make businesses hesitant to locate or expand here and hinders efforts to grow our economy and create more good jobs.It’s a problem...
View ArticleNew Iowa laws affect drivers, taxpayers
Drivers, young and old, as well as Iowa taxpayers who own businesses or draw wages will ring in 2014 with some new state laws affecting them.While most laws passed by the Iowa Legislature during the...
View Article2013 ends with lowest Iowa traffic death count in 70 years
Iowa is on track to post its fifth straight year of traffic fatalities below 400 and the lowest highway death toll since 1943.With less than two days left in the calendar year, the number of people...
View ArticleAUDIT CONCERNS OVER DOT SYSTEM
State Auditor Mary Mosiman is recommending the Iowa Department of Transportation strengthen password controls and segregate duties for the reconciliation of cash drawers from the individuals collecting...
View ArticleTraffic camera bill passes House committee, Iowa DOT head ‘disappointed’
DES MOINES – Legislation to bring automated traffic camera operations and fines under state regulation cleared a House transportation panel Thursday but Iowa’s top transportation official said it would...
View ArticleIowa DOT rules on traffic cameras take effect Feb. 12
DES MOINES – Traffic enforcement cameras used to monitor red-light and speeding violations along state highways passing through Iowa cities or counties will be subject to state regulations beginning...
View ArticleBRANSTAD BACKS DOT TRAFFIC CAMERA RULES
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he believes the Department of Transportation rules regulating traffic enforcement cameras along state highways will stand because he does not believe the Legislature...
View ArticleReview all options for I-380 traffic
By The Gazette Editorial Board—– We live in one of the two fastest-growing areas of the state. Our corridor continues to see robust growth in population, jobs, housing demand and other measures —...
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