Muffling motorcycles on Main Muffling motorcycles on Main (April 09, 2004)

Cops tried courtesy, now will enforce noise laws
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

Sunny skies are bringing more people downtown to eat outdoors.

What? I can't hear you.

Folks appreciate the Harley-Davidson motorcycles cruising Main Street for the character they bring to the scene, but sometimes their noise is excessive. In these cases, the police are about to crack down.

"We're going to start taking an enforcement stance," said Lt. Mark Senkle of the Pleasanton Police Department. "We will be citing them for excessive noise."

"Over the last couple of years we've been having increasing problems with loud stereos, loud exhaust, people spinning their tires and creating noise," he explained. They are not going to check to see if motorcycle exhaust pipes are modified; they only care if the owners are revving them loudly while at the sidewalk.

"Little kids cover their ears," said Ed Gonzalez, assistant manager of High Tech Burrito, with a laugh. He was quick to add that the bikers are not a problem. "Many of the people on motorcycles are our customers."

Senkle noted that downtown has become a more popular destination in the last few years for people who want to enjoy outdoor eating.

"We tried hard to accommodate everyone, with educational programs and handouts asking people to be good neighbors, and 90-95 percent of the people are trying to do that," he said.

He emphasized that motorcyclists are not the only problem, and that a modified vehicle does not have to make excessive noise.

"You don't have to rev the RPM up downtown so it reverberates on the buildings, 50 feet from people who are eating," he said, "and most people don't. Better than 90 percent of people are courteous and respect other people's rights to coexist downtown, but there's always that handful of people who don't get it."

"The small percentage tends to ruin it for everyone else," he continued. "They will be the target for enforcement - the group out there blatantly disrupting people."

He also noted that the police have had a good relationship working with the Livermore Harley association. "We've worked with them and they've been very cooperative," he said. "They agree with us on this issue - people want to shop and eat in an environment that is pleasant."

"People who ride Harleys are not of the element you might think," said Jerry Dean, a Pleasanton resident for 20 years, who rides a Harley and enjoys hanging out at Main Street and Angela. "They're retired policemen, firefighters, lawyers. 'Lowlifes' cannot afford a Harley."

"We're a form of entertainment," said George Ostengard, who considers himself vice mayor of the downtown Harley gang, while Dean is mayor. "Mothers and kids like to look at our bikes. We're more positive than negative. For Tully's, we provide security."

The Harley riders also remarked that they hope peer pressure will convince the scofflaw minority to respect the noise regulations.

"We're trying to save what we have," said Dean. "We do a pretty good job of policing ourselves."

"We've talked to the establishments and have their backing," added Ostengard.

"We have no problem with them," agreed Mindy Salas, owner of Coldstone Creamery. "We like them. I've never had anyone complain to us."

Kevin Bower, manager of TortaBella, said he's heard some people complain but it has not hurt his business at all. "Lots of people come down and look at the bikes," he said.

Senkle said that most citations issued have been associated with loud stereos. He thinks that the small percentage of motorcycle enthusiasts who are not complying with noise regulations will begin to eventually, just as they now accept the helmet law.

Other communities, such as Niles, have addressed the problem by cracking down on all motorcycle issues, but this is not the intention in Pleasanton.

"We could run a checkpoint and write everyone a ticket but that's not our desire," said Senkle. "We don't intend to do a sweep, just to deal with the particular problem we're having with the particular individual. It's the noise issue and the disturbing-the-peace issue."

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