Positive Noises

Friday’s editorials cover bikers and gambling, so it’s a fun day around here:

It’s been about two years since Myrtle Beach announced on the front page of one of its city-sponsored websites, “Effective 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. will no longer host motorcycle rallies.”

The May rallies held since showed an event struggling to find a new balance and place in the area. Bikers continued to come, but in smaller numbers and outside the city. And the city softened some of its stances – partly because of court cases, and partly we imagine because city leaders saw they had gone a bit too far in discouraging these visitors.

In the spirit of the latter category, we were encouraged this week to see the steps the City Council is taking to raise the noise limits in the city. The change in 2008, from 99 to 89 decibels, seemed unnecessarily punitive. The proposed hike in the limit to 92 decibels – a level endorsed by the American Motorcyclists Association – maintains a drop from the former level, while sending a message to motorcyclists that the city is willing to accept them and their business, provided their vehicles are not needlessly noisy. It’s one more step toward what we continue to hope will be a compromise event acceptable to all sides.

 

 

Friday’s editorials cover bikers and gambling, so it’s a fun day around here:

It’s been about two years since Myrtle Beach announced on the front page of one of its city-sponsored websites, “Effective 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. will no longer host motorcycle rallies.”

The May rallies held since showed an event struggling to find a new balance and place in the area. Bikers continued to come, but in smaller numbers and outside the city. And the city softened some of its stances – partly because of court cases, and partly we imagine because city leaders saw they had gone a bit too far in discouraging these visitors.

In the spirit of the latter category, we were encouraged this week to see the steps the City Council is taking to raise the noise limits in the city. The change in 2008, from 99 to 89 decibels, seemed unnecessarily punitive. The proposed hike in the limit to 92 decibels – a level endorsed by the American Motorcyclists Association – maintains a drop from the former level, while sending a message to motorcyclists that the city is willing to accept them and their business, provided their vehicles are not needlessly noisy. It’s one more step toward what we continue to hope will be a compromise event acceptable to all sides.

 

In the spirit of the latter category, we were encouraged this week to see the steps the City Council is taking to raise the noise limits in the city. The change in 2008, from 99 to 89 decibels, seemed unnecessarily punitive. The proposed hike in the limit to 92 decibels – a level endorsed by the American Motorcyclists Association – maintains a drop from the former level, while sending a message to motorcyclists that the city is willing to accept them and their business, provided their vehicles are not needlessly noisy. It’s one more step toward what we continue to hope will be a compromise event acceptable to all sides.

 

 

Friday’s editorials cover bikers and gambling, so it’s a fun day around here:

It’s been about two years since Myrtle Beach announced on the front page of one of its city-sponsored websites, “Effective 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. will no longer host motorcycle rallies.”

The May rallies held since showed an event struggling to find a new balance and place in the area. Bikers continued to come, but in smaller numbers and outside the city. And the city softened some of its stances – partly because of court cases, and partly we imagine because city leaders saw they had gone a bit too far in discouraging these visitors.

In the spirit of the latter category, we were encouraged this week to see the steps the City Council is taking to raise the noise limits in the city. The change in 2008, from 99 to 89 decibels, seemed unnecessarily punitive. The proposed hike in the limit to 92 decibels – a level endorsed by the American Motorcyclists Association – maintains a drop from the former level, while sending a message to motorcyclists that the city is willing to accept them and their business, provided their vehicles are not needlessly noisy. It’s one more step toward what we continue to hope will be a compromise event acceptable to all sides.