Police should enforce noise law

Dear Editor:

In discussing the Operation Quiet Aspen campaign with fellow residents of Aspen, I’m told the Aspen police will do nothing to enforce the law regarding excessive noise if the City Council doesn’t direct the city manager to direct the chief of police to do so. I’m told I’ll need a quorum of three council members before the city manager or the police force will take this issue seriously.

I’m not sure why $2,000 was approved by the council for educating the public if the city officials don’t care about this issue, but I believe it’s a public-health issue and the City Council is entrusted with keeping the public safe from harm. Excessive vehicular noise is unwanted, unnecessary, illegal and, most important of all, unhealthy.

The World Health Organization warns of adverse effects from excessive noise pollution, including impaired hearing, disturbed sleep, hypertension and heart disease, degraded performance, reduced productivity, increased rate of accidents, interference with cognitive development in children, intensified development of mental disorders and the creation of stress that influences mental health and social behaviors.

Need I say more?

I’ve worked for six years to reduce excessive noise in this noisy town, but even with new highway signs, bumper stickers, tent cards and posters, if the police aren’t instructed to ENFORCE the law, nothing will change.

Chief, can I count on you to defend the law and protect the public from the harmful effects of vehicular noise pollution? Will you take a stand and direct the Aspen police force to ticket law offenders, because for once Aspen is serious about reducing vehicular noise? This requires your immediate action. The public will thank you for reducing harmful pollution, and so will I.

Susan Christine O’Neal

Operation Quiet Aspen

Aspen