uality-of-life issues and noise ordinances seem to be two separate issues for municipalities. Many ordinances were crafted years ago when New Jersey was a very different state.
Much of the noise pollution we suffer today comes from the lack of enforcement of the laws regulating equipment on trucks, passenger vehicles and motorcycles. Speed of any vehicle contributes to the noise it makes. Speed escalates decibel levels. Strict enforcement of speed and mechanical condition of the vehicles that utilize our public roadways is essential to a quieter, more peaceful environment. Unfortunately it seems our roads are a world of their own – exempt from strict enforcement of noise regulations. These laws need change – now!
The recent noise ordinance drafted in Middletown is a weak effort to pacify some and ignores the right to a peaceful environment of all township residents. There’s no doubt landscapers and contractors are offenders, but what about the disturbance the township garbage hauler causes on County Road 520 every morning, six days a week before 6 a.m.? If the police enforced the speed laws and the laws about mechanical condition, half of these trucks as well as some of the delivery trucks that serve the supermarket, the donut shop and the other businesses in Lincroft, would be ticketed.
The speeding of passenger vehicles (mostly commuters) racing down Swimming River Road to the parkway on County Road 520 is also a source of noise in the very early hours each morning. The township doesn’t have the coverage needed to address this speeding in the very early morning hours – the offenders continue to offend and break the law each morning. The trucks of many firms from all over the county and out of the county are offenders all day long. The trucks belong on state highways or designated truck routes for commercial vehicles not on roads in residential neighborhoods.
Why must it always cost a life before our public officials address the problems that plague a very congested township, county and state? The problem is not limited to the noise. It involves noise, pollution, safety and quality-of-life issues
Our laws are inadequate and outdated. With the projected population of Monmouth County alone in the years ahead, our governments need to recognize this need and update our laws to the realities of today’s world. Noise is a serious health issue.
Barbara R. Thorpe
Lincroft section of Middletown