MASSACHUSETTS: Summertime, and the living is noisy

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/08/12/summertime_and_the_living_is_noisy/
Summertime, and the living is noisy

 By Scot Lehigh
 BOSTON Police Commissioner Ed Davis
Tales of the (Way Too) Noisy City Bad news, Commissioner. When it comes to loud motorcycles, we’ve got a real problem on our hands - and not just a noise problem, but a credibility problem, too. That’s what I’ve discovered since I signed on to help jump-start the BPD’s stalled enforcement of the city ordinance targeting roaring motorcycles. (You probably recall that in mid-July, BPD spokesman Elaine Driscoll enlisted my aid, saying that if I knew of areas plagued by loud pipes, “let me know and I would be happy to pass that along.’’)
You’re a no-nonsense guy, Commish, so I’ll give it to you straight. Bostonians think we don’t give a damn about enforcing the ordinance, which requires that motorcycle exhaust systems have a manufacturer’s stamp saying they comply with EPA noise standards. And they’re upset about our hear-no-Evel-Knievels attitude.
“I can’t understand the thinking behind the Boston Police Department’s lack of enforcement of these quality-of-life laws,’’ writes one reader. “The public perceives it as uncaring, and the respect of the citizenry goes down.’’
Last month, Driscoll said the BPD hadn’t received that many complaints about loud pipes. After my column ran, I sure did. Scores of them. I advised folks to call your office (617-343-4500). But since I know you’re a busy guy, here’s a sampling of what I heard.
“As I sit in my home office on the VFW Parkway in West Roxbury, the sounds and speed of motorcycles make this stretch of road more like the New England Dragway than a passenger vehicle parkway, beginning at 6:00 a.m.,’’ notes a correspondent.
“I was on the Common a few weeks ago enjoying a family day and a couple of bikes scared the life out of my 5-year old when they blew by us,’’ reports another. “You could hear them clear across the Common.’’
“My wife and I were sitting at an outdoor Starbucks on Newbury Street enjoying a totally glorious day when the roar of two motorcycles stopping directly in front of us woke us from our reverie and kept bombarding us with their thunderous din,’’ e-mails another. “The cyclists would gun the motors as if to claim their territory.’’
Calling the motorcycle noise pollution in his neighborhood “unbearable,’’ a reader who lives near the Christian Science Center said that “the police would easily be able to write a quota of tickets just by spending a day or a night on Mass. Ave.’’ Another nominated Columbus Avenue between Roxbury Crossing and Jackson Square as a prime noise spot, while several said Centre Street in Jamaica Plain regularly suffers from a deafening din.
Back Bay residents, meanwhile, said Comm. Ave. and Beacon Street are both under auditory assault.
“I become aware that spring has arrived when the motorcycles start roaring by,’’ writes a Beacon Streeter. “This is immediately followed by car alarms going off up and down the street, set off by the vibrations. People have to stop what they’re doing when one or more motorcycles go by.’’
Sometimes what they’re doing is sleeping.
“A motorcycle at full throttle, with no muffler, is a very unwelcome alarm clock at 3 a.m.,’’ notes one Comm. Ave resident, while another laments that it’s impossible to sleep with the windows open during riding season.
The North End, whose loud-pipes problem prompted District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina to propose the ordinance in the first place, is still plagued by noise pollution, e-mailers said.
“We are assaulted by noise every day,’’ writes one resident. “The motorcyclists claim they have a ‘right’ to make noise. What about our rights for quiet and peaceful enjoyment of our neighborhood, streets and homes?’’
His question goes to the very nub of the issue, Commissioner. The citizens we serve are looking to us to restore some sonic sanity - and so far, on this matter, we’ve failed them.
Now, I know the patrol force has a lot on its plate. But this won’t take a huge effort. Write a couple dozen tickets and word will get around in a hurry, trust me. So let’s go out there and do our city proud.
Special Officer Lehigh, signing off.