Department heads talk driving and roads

MT. PLEASANT — Winter driving practices, road conditions, and speed cameras were topics of discussion as Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee and Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss gave their reports at the monthly department head meeting with the county’s Board of Supervisors Thursday morning.

According to McNamee, the sheriff’s office is disseminating many information campaigns to the public as they prepare for winter.

Within those campaigns, McNamee says they encourage motorists to keep their cars locked and not leave valuables inside as they warm vehicles this winter.

“Winter is upon us, and winter driving is extra important,” McNamee said. “Something John Kuhens always used to say, ‘Go slow and avoid the tow.’”

He also stated that the department’s campaigns include plugs for the public to use 5-1-1 to check for road conditions before traveling.

“I do appreciate Rich [McNamee]’s plug for 5-1-1,” Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss said in his report at the department head meeting Thursday morning.

“That is a great app for the public to use,” Hotchkiss said. “Just a reminder the state roads are the primary system so they’re going to have your 24/7 removal and they’re staffed to handle that whereas we’re more of the 12 hours as a secondary system.”

Hotchkiss said that he uses the 5-1-1 app as a tool anytime his own family travels because he finds the reports for road conditions to be “spot on.”

“So, with these mornings we’ve been having this last week where we get this moisture overnight and then the moisture sticks around and it gets right up to that frosting or freezing level, the roads have been slick,”

Hotchkiss says crews found the slick conditions Tuesday morning last week sneaked up on the secondary roads department and they had to send crews.

“One or two degrees is all it takes for things to change,” Hotchkiss said. “So, this time of year when we’re hovering right around freezing, the public needs to be very careful and know that weather conditions change quickly.”

Additionally, Hotchkiss spoke about the work on Franklin Avenue stating that crews are already at work trying to remove trees from the right of way and a new right of away purchased by the county.

“We’re trying to get that ready for an upcoming paving project coming up next year,” Hotchkiss said.

While Hotchkiss says that clearing trees will help with the deer population and visuals in the area, other projects have shown that, “ … speeding definitely increases when we put a new surface out there.”

“Our roads are not designed to be over 55,” Hotchkiss said. “Most of them are designed to be at 50 when they were originally intended with the geometrics they did.”

Hotchkiss stated that this is why on some curves drivers might find they feel fine driving the speed limit, but others feel like they need to slow down.

On a similar note, Henry County Supervisor Marc Lindeen launched a conversation about speed cameras at the monthly department head meeting as he asked McNamee about Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber’s interest in them.

Supervisor Chad White elaborated on the conversation supervisors had with Lee County about speed cameras stating that they spoke about strategic placement, who should be cited, and the frequent objection calling the devices revenue makers.

“Speed cameras to me aren’t about the resource of money,” McNamee said. “It’s about the safety they provide.”

McNamee gave the example of speed cameras in Cedar Rapids.

“Cedar Rapids has two cameras that are around the S-curve around Quacker Oats which is in the central part of the city on 380,” he said. “They cut down their crash data by 80-some percent in the first year.”

According to McNamee, “ … those curves are pretty sharp, and people were going through there at 70 miles per hour and crashing.”

“80% on lower crash data is outstanding,” McNamee said. “There aren’t even adjectives that describe how wonderful that is.”

In specific response to Lindeen’s request for McNamee commented that Weber became interested in speed cameras for his county due to “ … continually crashes at either 218 and 16 which is just into his county or a little farther south at J40 and 218.”

According to McNamee, “A lot of fatality crashes hit those intersections.” He went on to state that several of those crashes were “traumatic.”

McNamee addressed concerns he has heard from the public stating that the issue is people not stopping at the stop signs of these intersections.

“Well, yeah, that is the cause of the crash, but when they’re getting hit by a 60 miles per hour car versus a 90 mile per hour car, it’s pretty obvious what the difference is going to be,” McNamee said.

“Even if they cut down 15%, how many lives is that going to save over the course of a year?” he said.

According to White, the discussion with Lee County also included conversation about whether it was fair to cite the registered owner of a vehicle for camera tickets.

McNamee gave some of his insight from talking with officials in Muscatine.

“You can appeal that,” McNamee said, although, he did also state that those appeals require informing the county who else was driving the car so the proper person could receive the citation.

He then drew on his own experience stating that the cameras can give a pretty clear picture of who is driving.

Just like everyone else, he received tickets from the cameras.

Specifically, McNamee says he received citations from cameras in Cedar Rapids while driving his wife’s car on the way to a destination and on the way back.

“It was my wife’s car, but it was me driving it,” he said lightheartedly.

McNamee said he didn’t hesitate to pay them, though, because “ … speeding is speeding.”

“You’re still speeding whether a cop pulls you over or they send you something in the mail,” McNamee said.

McNamee concluded that overall, he thinks they’re a pretty good resource.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com