Speaking out against motorcycle noise

Posted 8/21/12

BARRYVILLE, NY — “I never had anxiety before; I heard about it, but never had it.” Now, Betty Speaker said, the anxiety is so intense, she takes medication for it.

The source of her …

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Speaking out against motorcycle noise

Posted

BARRYVILLE, NY — “I never had anxiety before; I heard about it, but never had it.” Now, Betty Speaker said, the anxiety is so intense, she takes medication for it.

The source of her anxiety is noise from motorcycles that have been increasingly drawn to the area as the Route 97 Scenic Byway has developed a reputation as one of the best motorcycle roads in the northeast.

It’s a well-known fact that some cycle riders like to make their machines as loud as possible, and they often modify the exhaust systems—sometimes in violation of state and local laws—to put extra boom in their exhaust pipes.

On at least some portions of the Scenic Byway, noise ordinances have been enforced in the past, as a post from 2009 on a website dedicated to motorcycle roads (www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/ny97.html) indicates in a discussion specifically about the Route 97 Scenic Byway. The post, from a writer identified as Hoggz, said, “I got two tickets in a single weekend for having a modified muffler. The cop actually used the word ‘straight pipe,’ so they know what they’re doing. The state and county is cracking down HARD on noise pollution along the river, so avoid this stretch if your exhaust system is unmuffled or modded.”

That was probably not on a stretch of the road near Barryville. Speaker said she spoke to the former supervisor of the town on various occasions in an attempt to get the town constables to ticket the noisy motorcycles that drive her away from her home of 40 years on weekends, but to no avail.

She said that once a New York State trooper came down on a Wednesday afternoon and observed the scene for a while, but the motorcycles don’t come on Wednesdays; they come on weekends.

Speed is a concern on the highway, and Supervisor Jeff Haas recently said the he is going to ask the state that the speed limit be dropped from 55 mph to 30 mph after a constable recently stopped a motorcycle doing 80 mph through Barryville. But that won’t address the noise that so aggravates Speaker and her neighbors.

David Hulse, a neighbor who reports for this newspaper wrote: “The motorcycles scare my dogs, they rattle my windows, and they make normal conversation impossible. I like to work in the yard and they really take a lot of the fun and relaxation out of it.”

Many of the riders congregate at the Carriage House Restaurant, but Speaker said she does not find fault with the restaurant. She said the responsibility for dealing with the issue lies with law enforcement.

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