With all the problems facing our planet, country and city, graffiti and vehicular noise may not seem like a big deal, but the thing is, they can be controlled and somewhat eliminated, and nothing seems to be done!
By vehicular noise, I’m speaking of loud cars, trucks and motorcycles that have obviously had the mufflers either removed or modified (which is illegal). Understanding that there are limited resources in our public safety division — I am not suggesting that detectives participate — but it seems like enforcing the noise ordinances by the traffic division while on patrol would be appropriate and not be overly burdensome. When requesting help from our mayor and my local council person, only one even bothered to respond and that was to tell me that the next time it happened, notify the police (yeah, that works with a car doing 50 mph on a 30 mph street).
And graffiti is showing up everywhere: construction signs, building walls, signs and signposts — you name it and they’ve been hit. The city is good about responding to removal requests, but many places are public areas that go unreported. Our city is much worse than most of the cities I have visited, both larger and smaller. Why is it so out of control? If the city doesn’t have the answer, perhaps they can contact other administrations in other locales for options and ideas.
Yes, there are important issues that need resolution, but the current administration and council needs to also step up and at least make an effort to solve problems that are somewhat achievable.
John Gurr, Salt Lake City
