Re: [Winona] Vehicle noise

[Pat Moline]

Thank you for your posting.  The noise abatement issue has had me concerned for quite some time now.   I live on West Broadway, close to McBride Street, where the new stop sign has been placed.  Although I have lived at this address for over 15 years,  I cannot recall a year when the noise has been worse than this year.  The noise is very intrusive.  Its getting almost intolerable to live in this neighborhood.   The motorcycles gear down as they approach the stop sign.  And then rev up as they take off.  Why is it necessary for them to be so loud?  I have heard that one reason is for safety.  Motorcycles want to be heard because some drivers don't see them.  Maybe they should wear blaze orange.   It is interesting that some of the same motorcyclists that need to be loud for safety reasons, are the ones that don't wear helmets.   Hmm!   Also, people who have their music cranked up to the point of being able to hear them coming a block away, are also very irritating.    I don't think its fair to blame the police for this problem.   They have got their hands full keeping the community safe.  However, if there is a lull in the police action, I for one, would appreciate some ticketing of the most flagrant violators.   Maybe it would send a message.   Does anyone else have any other ideas of how we can address this problem and get some relief from the noise? -----Original Message----- From: John N. Finn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Winona <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Friday, June 22, 2001 9:31 PM Subject: [Winona] Vehicle noise Winona has posted signs at the city entrances claiming to enforce vehicle noise laws. I've been told by the police that they make many arrests for these violations. However, I've never seen any such convictions printed in the Daily News or Post. Perhaps offenders have lawyers that are able to beat these charges. Or maybe the courts throw the cases out. Someone at the courthouse speculated that the charges might be reduced to something else so that the noise violation wouldn't be listed as such.   Anyway, to whatever extent Winona attempts to enforce vehicle noise laws, I maintain that the effort is woefully ineffective. That this is so can be verified by spending time at Windom Park or by the Interstate Bridge on a weekend. Motorcyclists especially seem to be immune to any possibility of receiving a noise citation. The adequacy of a particular muffler installation might require expensive technical equipment to verify. But shouldn't the absence of any muffler at all be an automatic, easily detectable, and uncontestable cause for a stiff fine?   Does anyone out there have any insight into this matter?