Booming music raises concerns

LANCASTER- Have you ever been stopped at a traffic light and the car next to you is blaring music so loud that you can actually feel the vibrations from the vehicle’s speakers. This has happened to me several times.

I don’t think much of it because I enjoy driving with my radio turned up, singing along with the music, but I also don’t have a full blown high tech sound system that has “thumping bass.” But to be considerate for those around me, I only turn the music up when driving on the thruway and then I turn it down when entering into a residential area.

So, I think it is just a matter of respecting those around you.

Do I think it is wrong for music to be played so loud in a car? Obviously, not, but the only issue I would bring up is that there a risk of the driver not being able to hear what is going on around them. whether it is an ambulance or police vehicle that need to get by.

But everything has its pros and cons.

Now, if my next door neighbor was blasting music during the day I know I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but if it continued into the late hours of the night. That’s when I would become quite annoyed.

At Monday night’s town board meeting, a Lancaster resident said to the board that his home borders Como Lake Park and while trying to enjoy the peacefulness and comfort of his home, rap music is being blasted in the park.

I can understand his concern. It is his home and any homeowner should be able to enjoy their home without being forced to listen to constant, obnoxious, dull, percussive “Thump, Thump, Thump,” but a park is a public place so there is going to be noise whether it is music or yelling and screaming kids.

Now, if the noise continued into the night I would see a problem, but nothing was stated at the meeting that it did.

After hearing from the chief of police, he said that there is more patrol than ever in the park, officers in uniform and those in plain clothes, and if an officer deems that a noise level is unreasonable they will usually give the person a warning.

However, if the noise does persist a violator can be issued a ticket, according to town code, but that rarely happens.

I am torn on this issue because on one side, I think people should demonstrate common courtesy toward others who are around them, but on the other hand I think people have the right to turn up the music as loud as they want, especially when it is daylight out.

I don’t live by a park so I wouldn’t expect to hear music or any type of loud noises on a regular basis, but if you live by a park I think you would hear all kind of noises. Don’t forget it was your choice to live there? It’s not always going to be quiet.

Why waste the time of police when there are so many real criminal acts occurring in the park. Honestly, I think people complain just to complain and have nothing better to do.

So, looking at this problem overall and all the facts I considered finally led me to side with the park goers. There are so many other residents that live in that general area and in the four years I have been covering Lancaster, I never heard one complaint until now.

It wasn’t like 50 people came to meeting complaining. Obviously, it is not an issue that everyone feels the same way about. If it was don’t you think more people would have addressed the board with their concerns?