Noise complaints deserve a serious look from state

Noise complaints deserve
a serious look from state

There hasn’t been an issue in Manalapan over the past 30 years which has had more "legs" than the issue of noise generated by the Raceway Park drag strip in neighboring Old Bridge.

People who live in the section of Manalapan closest to the Pension Road drag strip just across the township’s border have lobbied municipal officials for years, seeking some enforcement mechanism that would address the noise issue.

Along the way there have been some legal victories and agreements that made it appear as if relief could be at hand for residents, but those who have followed the situation closely say that relief has never really materialized.

It is not enough for some people who choose not to fully research the issue to ask how people could buy a house near a drag strip and then complain about the noise. The fact is that over the years the cars coming to the drag strip have changed. The problems with the noise may have very well intensified after someone who knew the drag strip was nearby purchased a home with the expectation that existing court orders addressing the noise would be enforced.

Some progress in the situation appears to have been made with the announcement by Manalapan officials that a new agreement with Raceway Park’s operators has been reached.

Mayor Rebecca Aaronson said the new order includes provisions that specifically limit muffled racing to vehicles that are in full compliance with state laws and regulations regarding muffling.

She said the order permits Manalapan officials unfettered access to Raceway Park to ensure full compliance with this new court order, requires Raceway Park to pay the township $25,000 to reimburse the town for its legal fees in connection with this legal action, reduces the use of the public address system, and includes a "hammer" clause that enables Manalapan to go to court immediately and seek sanctions and monetary fines should Raceway Park violate any of the terms of this new court order.

If those provisions are enforced, then perhaps Manal-apan residents who live near the race track will get the relief they have sought for so long.

The state Department of Environmental Protection bears some responsibility here, having never developed rules governing noise levels at automobile race tracks. Arnie Feldman, the resident who has led this fight for more than a decade, has urged the DEP to change its blanket noise exemption for automobile racetracks.

He is asking to have the exemption for automobile racetracks in the current state noise regulations challenged on constitutional grounds. He claims the exemption denies residents of the equal protection afforded all other New Jersey residents under the state Noise Control Act.

If the issue with the Raceway Park noise is a health issue — as some residents claim it is — and not just a matter of people complaining about something that annoys them, then state officials and regulators are obligated to give this matter a serious look at this time.