New Hope cops able to enforce laws against offending motorcyclists-go figure!

I recently came across this story in the Inky about how New Hope officials cite some motorcycle operators for violating noise laws AND for violating vehicle equipment laws.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090821_Some_in_New_Hope_look_to_throttle_bikers__noise.html?posted=n#comments

As I have been saying to our officials for some time now, there are any number of laws that many motorcyclists here are violating and can be charged for--if those officials would only enforce the laws. There are air pollution laws, noise laws, vehicle equipment laws, traffic laws (like speeding), etc.

The problem in Mt. Gretna is that the law enforcement entity that is responsible for enforcing these laws has declined to perform this function and our elected officials decline to motivate them to enforce the laws. Oh, they state that they do issue such tickets, but as I said in a previous post, I can find no evidence that any such tickets have ever been issued. So, even if they have issued a ticket in the years of their contract with Mt. Gretna, it is on such a rare occassion as to have no effect for us in producing law enforcement.

Bill Care, the Borough manager, recently told a resident that he would have Cornwall PD here patrolling the roads for the upcoming motorcycle breakfast. But what does his promise really mean? Does it mean that they are just going to put that speed monitor trailer at one end of the road (as this technique is the one suggested was acceptable "enforcement" by Cornwall's Chief Harris)? Or does this mean that Cornwall PD has figured out how to acquire and use a sound meter (which, I found out, cost less than $200 dollars to purchase and is extremely simple to operate while applying the state's noise laws to motorcycles )? Or are they just going to give tickets for speeding? Or is this their excuse for parking a patrol car or an off-duty police officer in front of my home for an hour or two without ever actually enforcing any traffic laws against anyone--to menace me rather than actually enforce the laws?

So, let's see what happens on that Sunday--will Bill Care's words turn out to be another dupe on the citizens of Mt. Gretna--citizens who are seriously concerned about the noise and traffic issues in our community? Or will there be some real traffic enforcement?

I encourage as many of you as possible to let Care and the council members know that you will appreciate their enforcement efforts that day and will be watching with supportive eyes, as that applauding group in New Hope did. The Borough phone number is 717-964-3270. And, you can reach them by email-the best way to send a municipality a communication! You can email Bill at bcare@comcast.net. If you want to write them a quick note, the address is 101 Chautauqua Drive - Mount Gretna, PA 17064 .