Editorials and Letters to the Editor
There has been a huge outpouring of public sentiment against the noise generated by UTVs in and around Moab, including a large number of letters to the editor, published in both local papers. The following is a running list of those letters.
Totals to Date:
33 Letters to the Editor | 3,799 Signatures on Change.org | 852 signatures on the Sign-on Letter
Editorials
"Editorial: The total hypocrisy of the Utah Senate" - March 11, 2021
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/the-total-hypocrisy-of-the-utah-senate/
Excerpt:
`When the Utah Legislature made it legal to drive obnoxiously loud vehicles that were never intended for street use through formerly quiet and peaceful neighborhoods, your right to quiet use and enjoyment of your home was violated.
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Letters to the Editor
"Looking for real balance" - May 6, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_bf44f54a-aea7-11eb-9262-2f4e1a6f919a.html
Excerpt:
There is a grave misconception that serving the interests of ATV users and the businesses that serve them, and ensuring the ability for people who live and work in this town to sit peacefully in their backyards are somehow equivalent obligations.
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"Noise regulation isn't enough" - May 6, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_0dd28a90-aeaa-11eb-94c0-6fdc8e8fec71.html
Excerpt:
Enacting legislation now that caps the number of rental companies, provides incentives for low-emission vehicles, encourages guided touring, and requires tow-to-trail during high-use periods will help to make Moab more livable now and tomorrow.
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"Businesses shouldn't control the conversation" - May 6, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_ed9405ea-aeab-11eb-b1b3-0b05a80b4fb1.html
Excerpt:
When we allow these businesses to get away unregulated, we are sacrificing the health and wellbeing of the whole community. And for what? So that a handful of business owners profit while the rest of us suffer?
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"Opinion: A UTV noise progress report" - April 21, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_a0effd22-9892-11eb-b60d-eb590ef79bbb.html
Excerpt (in reference to this editorial):
I believe that UTV noise is the most serious issue currently facing our community. If things don't get significantly quieter this year, then the Grand County Commissioners and Moab City Council members will have failed to properly do their job.
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"Grateful for editorial" - March 25, 2021
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/grateful-for-editorial/
Excerpt (in reference to this editorial)
As a person who lives on Spanish Valley Drive, I just wanted to thank you for the genuinely thoughtful article about the noise/RZR issue(s) in Moab. Keep up the good work.
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"UTV regulation" - February 19, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_659c1ca4-7305-11eb-a06d-334b9e87c251.html
Excerpt
Our town is being held hostage by a handful of business owners who are resistant to any kind of regulation.
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"Watching locally relevant legislation" - February 19, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_d977794e-7304-11eb-b11d-cfbd6939063a.html
Excerpt
[W]hy is it that the myriad of people from here that spoke out are discounted? Why is it that the constant letters to the editor regarding this issue aren’t considered significant?
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"Let Moab voters decide OHV issue" - February 19, 2021
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/let-moab-voters-decide-ohv-issue/
Excerpt
Moab has become the “Motorhead Capital” of the world, which has put us at the epicenter of the unforeseen consequences of allowing street legal OHVs. The problem will only get worse, unless as a community we are given the right to make our own decisions by placing this issue on a ballot, and allowing the people of Moab to decide.
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"When "Quiet" is a valuable selling point" - January 28, 2021
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/when-quiet-is-a-valuable-selling-point/
Excerpt:
It’s time to acknowledge that Noise detracts from real estate values, not to mention quality of life, health, and happiness.
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"Let Moab voters decide OHV issue" - March 25, 2021
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/let-moab-voters-decide-ohv-issue/
Excerpt (in reference to this editorial)
All other states in the U.S. allow counties and towns to set their own standards for OHV’s on their streets, with the exception of Utah. What I find particularly ironic is that we live in a state that espouses freedom from government overreach, yet does not let local municipalities make their own decisions.
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"Cranky neighbors and UTV noise" - Jan 21, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_a50a61a2-5c3f-11eb-9b93-6333485dfcd3.html
Excerpt:
[E]veryone knows these things are noisy. At 1:54, 2:04 and 2:05 p.m. they are driving past my house on Sunny Acres Lane as I write this letter today. I can hear the machines over the Browns Chiefs playoff game.
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"UTV Noise" - January 15, 2021
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_1b1c2bb6-577a-11eb-bc23-57fc71de00da.html
Excerpt:
Twice this fall I have been trying to conduct business with a local veterinarian on 300 South and I could not hear the person speaking to me from three feet away, nor could she or he hear me! This is an insult to both residents and to business owners. As I left the office, I noted that the dog park and the [charter] school are on this sometimes very noisy street.
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"Sick of the Noise” - December 18, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_25046d28-415e-11eb-8b15-739c58a5cb11.html
Excerpt:
I have observed ATVs ridden on streets in Moab with sound systems blaring so the operator can hear the music above the ATV noise while wearing hearing protection. But what about us citizens who want to live in peace and quiet? The amount of loud ATV traffic in our neighborhoods has grown dramatically and needs to be addressed.
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“Off Road Vehicles Belong Off Road” - December 18, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_6075ed9c-415d-11eb-ace3-835791a3dcd6.html
Excerpt:
A “public nuisance” is a common law offence in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the public in general rather than by an individual in particular. The sheer number and noise from the ever-increasing flood of ATVs in Moab without a doubt constitutes a public nuisance.
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“Enough” - December 18, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_85d5323c-415d-11eb-a3d9-a7c3611a3f68.html
Excerpt:
UTVs are manufactured to be loud because they sell better that way, and as currently built, are inappropriate for both in-town and backcountry use. It's not too much to ask that ORV operators play in such a way that they can't be heard from miles away.
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“The Sound Of Silence” - December 4, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_5014c92e-3676-11eb-8be2-633ced5ad2f4.html
Excerpt:
Imagine if Moab became the Mecca for electric OHVs. Oh, I realize that there are all sorts of impediments to this vision. However, as the old saying goes, would we ever attempt ANYTHING if we only ever thought of all the reasons why it wouldn’t work?
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“Scary Encounters With Side By Sides” - December 4, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_03fe2774-3676-11eb-8998-9bbca08b6638.html
Excerpt:
This is not the first time we have had close calls on other roads with side-by-sides SCREAMING fast and taking up the bulk of the road.
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“Citizens Rights to Quiet Streets” - December 4, 202
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_2b07cc50-3674-11eb-aa8f-279873d26976.html
Excerpt:
Please, Utah State Legislators: take heed! Don’t let the UTV industry rob our quality of life!
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“Shutting Out The Rally” - December 4, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_fbaa4dac-3673-11eb-9187-bb9bd4092dfa.html
Excerpt:
I applaud our City and County officials for hitting the pause button on Special Event Permits for UTV events.
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“Impacts Too Great To Ignore” - December 3, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/impacts-too-great-to-ignore/
Excerpt:
I am awoken before sunrise and well after midnight for days on end. Forget about sitting outside in the backyard, the noise is just too much.
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“Ban UTV’s On Grand County Streets” - December 3, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/ban-utvs-on-grand-county-roads/
Excerpt:
I am writing to express my extreme outrage and exhaustion regarding UTV traffic noise through my neighborhood at all hours! It has gotten progressively worse over the past five years.
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“Not A Single Noise But a Roar” - November 29, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_1be697d6-3275-11eb-a581-7377b98c628c.html
Excerpt:
As Mayor Niehaus put it, the problem is not just the volume, it is the volume of the volume. In other words, the issue isn’t about decibels alone, it’s about the number of vehicles pumping out all these decibels.
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“How Loud Is Too Loud” - November 29, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_57da5f84-3275-11eb-a02a-9b9f18978bbb.html
Excerpt:
We don't need a standardized sound test or a lengthy article to tell us how noisy UTV's are. Thousands of Moab ear witnesses can answer the question in two words: TOO LOUD.
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“Pandemic Provided Exceptional Gift of Silence” - November 25, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/pandemic-provided-exceptional-gift-of-silence/
Excerpt:
It’s Nov. 22 and I can still hear the dreaded drone of UTV’s. When do we get a break from the unrelenting noise? In the last five years there has been a steady and alarming increase in UTV traffic.
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“Raise Taxes, Reduce Tourism, UTV’s” - November 12, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/raise-taxes-reduce-tourism-utvs/
Excerpt:
When I began writing this letter, I was thinking about UTVs. Frequently, I am wakened during the night by an UTV roaring by on 4th East near where I live. (There are nights when multiple UTVs seem to be racing down 4th East.)
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“More Officers Needed to Enforce UTV Rules” - November 5, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/more-officers-needed-to-enforce-utv-rules/
Excerpt:
Moab needs to become a place where visitors know they cannot break the rules, not a place where they can come and behave as they like. With strong law enforcement the word will soon get out.
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“State UTV Law Is No Law At All” - October 30, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_46eef440-1ad9-11eb-81bd-db6bcfa2ba22.html
Excerpt:
It is unclear to me why there is any debate over UTVs on public streets and highways - they are illegal.
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“KZMU Special On UTV’s” - October 25, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_fbb3701e-16e6-11eb-9578-7f7f4056ff71.html
Excerpt:
We are in a desperate struggle to preserve our vibrant community and our magnificent surroundings from the ravages of uncontrolled UTVs.
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“Have Times Changed?” - October 25, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_20f1fda0-16e7-11eb-bac4-234875875b8a.html
Excerpt:
Now I'm 75, and I'd appreciate it if Moab was still peaceful and quiet. If a clear majority of the locals agreed with me, and found a way to organize, and make their feelings known, I bet it soon would be.
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“Moab isn’t The Place For Non-Stop Parade of UTV’s” - October 22, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/moab-isnt-the-place-for-nonstop-parade-of-utvs/
Excerpt:
Our streets have hundreds of ORVs roaring up and down them almost every day. The noise level is abusive. Is there some way to provide ORV services at the source of the trails? Can the machines have effective mufflers? Is it absolutely necessary that they be so loud we can’t hear each other have a conversation in our own yard?
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“Don’t Back Down On The Rally” - October 16, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_e24ad062-0fee-11eb-bf94-d72638b8c9bb.html
Excerpt:
Please don't back down with Rally on the Rocks. I understand that they bring in money to our economy but they are a disruptive force and make our lives miserable.
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“Something’s Gotta Change” - October 16, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_4e34e61a-0fee-11eb-8897-2394ea5d6462.html
Excerpt:
UTVs aren't just a nuisance, they are a signal of an emergent public health issue. Residents in neighborhoods with loud traffic noise are 25% more likely to suffer from depression than those in quiet neighborhoods.
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“Noise Is A Real Issue” - October 16, 2020
https://www.moabsunnews.com/opinion/article_fd12872e-0fed-11eb-8d31-ebb3a54e0957.html
Excerpt:
Having read the slew of letters, articles and editorials concerning noise pollution, I feel compelled to write. Trained as a psychologist, I am impressed with the parallels between an adjustment disorder and the reported reactions experienced by both friends and others living in the area.
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"Time to act on UTV noise" - October 8, 2020
https://www.moabtimes.com/articles/letter-time-to-act-on-utv-noise/
Excerpt:
According to OSHA, hearing damage occurs at 85 decibels; most UTVs produce 85 to 100 decibels. To some motorsports enthusiasts, loud engines are part of the exhilaration of riding.