City councilors: You must solve Santa Fe’s noise crisis

Funding for the below items could quickly solve the noise pollution crisis we are all enduring as a community. All it takes is the fortitude to act aggressively.

◆ We need noise cameras to put an end to this noise pollution nightmare. These cameras can record a decibel reading of the noise, issue a ticket, provide actual real-time evidence of the noise offense and location of the occurrence.

◆ Stationary unmanned police car speed cameras to stop the aggressive driving of speeders and drag racers.

◆ Encrypting technology for our police officers to be able to communicate confidentially, which the police do not have.

◆ Increase noise and modified-muffler code violation fines significantly.

I have been writing articles decrying the injustice of noise pollution our citizens are enduring night and day, hoping to see a commitment of action from the city. We need prompt enforcement of the existing laws and increased fines.

Recently, I was told about an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that parallels the underlying issues we are dealing with in Santa Fe. The battle in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco is between liberal prosecutors who don’t want to step on any cultural or racial toes while law enforcement is being crippled by this troubling ambivalence by the authorities.

Similarly, here our elected leaders might be overthinking this noise issue. This noise is simply an intentional assault by a small minority on the rights of the many. The city’s inaction encourages more bravado and intentional racing down streets and revving of engines with modified noise-enhancing mufflers, in direct defiance of civilized society’s laws and order. That is why increased fines and enforcement are imperative.

Enforcement of the noise laws is neither racist nor cultural — it is colorblind. The City Council cannot ignore this reality. Lowriders using gyrations and pneumatics is heritage of the Chicanos, but that’s not what is happening now. Intentional disruption of our community is not the cultural tradition of the Hispanic people here. Please do not confuse this. If these road-rage drivers cannot live without vehicle noise, maybe the racetrack can become a place for these road ragers to blow off their steam in private.

This current intentional attack on human beings’ mental and physical health must be addressed. Repeatedly, scientific medical evidence proves loud noise has a very negative impact on human beings’ mental and physical health.

I am reaching out to city councilors: Partner with your constituents. We can share with you and the police authorities the descriptions and license plate numbers of the 200 most abusive road warriors. Let’s work together. The reality is that the lodgers, restaurants, Realtors and neighborhoods are suffering through negative reviews concerning the loud noise and the inability to sleep.

Realtors sometimes must schedule showings when there is the least amount of nearby explosive muffler noise. It is great to see the midtown campus moving forward, but I believe solving this noise crisis is equally important and far less expensive.