Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet
For immediate release
July 13, 2021
Contact:
Jason Duarte
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
[email protected]
877-664-7366
Chapel Hill: Glendora, California, a city in the San Gabriel Valley 26 miles east of Los Angeles, has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet for tolerating constant noise from loud motorcycles and loud car stereos.
Jason Duarte, a Glendora resident, stated that “I can’t count how many times I’ve been shocked into consciousness at 2:00 am by the sonic assault of a motor vehicle with after-market exhausts and/or loud music. Some of these obnoxious and rude drivers employ their thundering after-market exhausts while blasting through the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Lone Hill Avenue. Surely the individuals who install illegal exhausts on their vehicles are compensating for some shortcoming. I hope that every one of these selfish noisemakers gets a citation and a hefty fine.”
Duarte notes that he feels “like a prisoner in my own home because it is unbearable to open the windows and listen to motorcycles and cars come roaring by all day long at 40+ mph, especially those with loud modified exhausts or boom cars. The noise pollution has caused me to be more fatigued due to lack of sleep, which is affecting my performance at work. Additionally, it is very difficult to have videoconference meetings because of the noise pollution. I feel more anxious and stressed. It has also made my dog more anxious and scared. I am also having a hard time enjoying my backyard because of all the noise.”
Another Glendora resident, Marcylina Barba, commented that “the noise here has been getting worse. The loud noise from motorcycles, boom cars, and loud exhaust cars are not only a nuisance; they are also dangerous. The noise levels have increased and become very distressing—to the point where we now avoid opening our windows.”
Jason Duarte has taken noise readings in Glendora, at the intersection of Football Boulevard and Lone Hill Avenue, at various times. He found that “noise levels inside homes with front windows are constantly above 60 bBA, frequently over 70 dBA, and at times over 80 dBA.”
Duarte notes that Glendora has a comprehensive noise ordinance, which establishes noise standards and enforcement procedures. The ordinance is designed to control unnecessary, excessive, and annoying noise. Duarte states that “city manager Adam Raymond has elected to ignore a serious issue in the community. Strong actions need to be taken by city government and the police to control this growing menace.”
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet is a national citizens organization devoted to noise reduction. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include San Luis Obispo, California; Cal-OSHA; and UCLA.
This is exactly what is happening where I live, in Carlisle, PA. I have taken the issue to the mayor, whose response was was merely a smirky agreement to the problem. He didn’t care. The police force has been decreased so much by this administration that they don’t have enough manpower to deal effectively with the issue. I noticed this all began when our current administration got into office. All the cars are brand new sports cars, and the area I live in is low income housing……🤔…..not rocket science. We still have American veterans in need of housing and medical help! B_d_n must GO!!!! TREASON!!! 🇺🇸
Hi Janis, I must totally agree w/ you on the minimalistic feeling local government has here. It sounds like it’s the same situation where you live. Local government feels like it’s unimportant, they know what is right and best and ignore or push back the issue in hopes people drop it, forget about it, or move out. The City Manager here does not live in the city but happens to manage it.
Clearly you have failed to see the problem here. TRUMP is the one who decided ANYTHING goes. Biden caress way more about you than you care about him. Shame on you for trying to blame noised issues on Biden. Clearly, this country needs a long term socialist solution so people like you get the education that they need free of cost to use the brain that you were born with. That won’t EVER happen with a Repuglican.
This problem started in 1981 when the federal gvmt slashed funding for the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) and we won’t see any fundamental change in addressing it by focusing only on state and local gvmt solutions. States and local gvmts are struggling with budget shortfalls, but the federal gvmt is the currency issuer and can afford any amount of funding.
The current administration is more open to funding programs and agencies than we’ve seen in many years. Now is the time for all of us that want to crack down on this noise epidemic to organize a mass campaign to pressure Congress to reinstate a generous annual budget for the ONAC, that could be included in the infrastructure bill now being debated. The federal gvmt can afford to not only fund the ONAC with the budget needed for doing its job, but could provide the states with the funding to end the race to the bottom that States are facing from the lack of funding.
I have contacted all my representatives about this many times, but it would carry more weight as a national campaign.
William Pitt, I totally agree that we have to get the Federal Government to reinstate a generous annual budget to ONAC and simultaneously pressure our state and local governments to enforce. I am in for a national campaign. I live in Portland, Oregon and get pissed off as hell every day at the egregious selfish behavior of these motorcyclists and race car drivers. We have moved to another bedroom where there is less noise because it was so bad. If you say something about it on social media (NextDoor) you get attacked by the “car community” and they harass you even more. As for the political comment that this is Biden’s fault – come on! Trump’s narcissistic behavior and the idea that “freedom means I can do whatever I want, screw you if you want me to think of someone other than myself”, has given a green light to this obnoxious, uncivil behavior. Let’s coalesce around the noise issue and get this done.
This is also a problem in Seattle, however contrary to the previous poster’s claim, I know that there hasn’t been any “police force decrease” at all. Also, one can be for veterans AND for noise free cities, they don’t need to be mutually exclusive, so stop the false dichotomy. The correlation is more around the road design or the lack of it, to be precise. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so here is a little study https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-09/traffic-plummeted-in-2020-but-fatal-crashes-rose and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzNZUeUHAM&t=400s highlighted that the only reasons why there aren’t even more Americans killed in traffic is because of traffic jam.
I just spoke to a Sargent in Glendora Police Department. He said they are aware of the problem and are doing enforcement. I gave him the website for noisefree.org
He said he would take a look at it. People need to get involve and make phone calls and letters to newspapers and facebook pages. That is the only way to make change.
https://www.cityofglendora.org/residents/department-directory
Here is a whole list of people to call to complaint about enforcement of California’s Modified Muffler Law. It is a state law. Not just a local law.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=27151
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=27151
This is a California State Law. Not just a local law.
Here is a link to contact public officials in Glendora. Let them know they won the Noisy Dozen award.
https://www.cityofglendora.org/residents/department-directory
I appreciate you making the effort to contact Glendora Police about this issue. I have had many email exchanges w/ the city manager that included the police chief, city council member and mayor. The city council member and mayor basically passed the buck to the city manager and police chief. I can tell you nothing has been done to permanently resolve the issue. The police chief has provided patrols whenever they can, that was the resolution. I have added their email contacts below in case anyone wants to reach out further. If more of us contact all these individuals, that is when I feel things will get done.
[email protected] (mayor)
[email protected] (city council member)
[email protected] (city manager)
[email protected] (police chief)