Police move to cut back on downtown noise

Police want to cut the noise level as al fresco dining and shopping become more popular in the downtown and as some motorists are making a racket.

Police are poised to start added traffic patrols in the downtown and will soon cite the loudest offenders as part of “Operation Quiet-Down-Town.”

“We wish for everyone to be able to enjoy this incredible town and everything it has to offer,” Police Chief Morehead wrote in a memo. “Our residents and visitors should be able to walk and eat in town without noise that interferes with everyday life.”

Mayor Jordan Norley is pushing for peace and quiet. Beginning with an April 5 meeting, the mayor and chief have been discussing combating noise in the downtown. As of April 28, West Chester Police officers were provided a directive for added traffic patrol in the downtown district.

“This has been a longstanding quality of life and health issue,” Norley said. “Let it be known now: if you harass our residents and pedestrians to show off how loud your car or motorcycle is, West Chester won’t stand for that any longer.

“We will pull you over, and you will be ticketed. Think before you try to show off.”

Councilman Don Braceland noted during last week’s Public Safety, Events and Quality of Life committee meeting that enforcement is welcome by many.

“This is going to make a lot of people happy,” Braceland said.

Officers will cite motorists for public safety and quality of life issues, including motorcyclists not wearing protective eyewear and those with modified exhaust systems. State inspections will be ordered to determine whether legal mufflers were modified.

A single patrol car will nab violators or plain clothes officers will identify a citable offense and radio ahead to police in the next block to stop the motorist in violation. Borough police now actively cite motorists for loud music.

“There will be ongoing exploration of other methods to help curb noise pollution,” Morehead said. “Officers will be actively patrolling for vehicles that create excessive noise and identifying violations that provide the legal means in which to stop that vehicle.”

In a bid to combat excessive vehicular noise, the chief said that electronic signage is now going up that will notify motorists that the borough will aggressively enforce the laws, with zero tolerance.

There are more safety issues than a loss of hearing.

According to the West Chester Borough Council Sustainability Advisory Committee, “modified or removed exhaust systems can greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the point-sourced pollution controls of the vehicle’s exhaust system, materially increasing exposure of nearby individuals to toxic or unhealthy emissions found in vehicle exhaust.”

This could affect anyone from pedestrians, to patrons and employees of outdoor dining establishments, to residents on or adjacent to high-traffic roadways.