When I saw the headline about quality of life in Allentown, I was encouraged. Perhaps Mayor Tuerk was going to crack down on the dirt bikes terrorizing city streets? I had written about this problem almost three years ago. As I got deeper into the article and they started quoting Promise Neighborhoods, my enthusiasm waned. Of course Promise Neighborhood worries about what inequalities in our community causes the junior gangsters to act out? I can only hope that Tuerk values Promise's opinions less than the Morning Call does.
The bikes are a difficult problem. The article points out that chasing them by police would create a situation too hazardous to justify. As an advocate for our traditional park system, a suggestion of turning over a city park to the bikers, to blow off steam, would be a nightmare.
It is constructive that the city is recognizing the problem as a priority. I would think that fast confiscation of the bikes, and a slow, complicated return of them, would greatly lessen the problem.
Why return them? Convicted shooters don't get their guns back. Why should convicted criminal bikers?
ReplyDeleteThis problem has grown in Allentown because it has been tolerated in Allentown. We don't need a task force, we need the political will to respond to calls about illegal dirt bikes and pursue, apprehend and prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law.
ReplyDeleteWhat was missing from the "task force" announcement? Maybe I missed it, but these would be good starts:
Telling the public to call 911 when they see illegal dirt bikes/ATV's on the streets, and letting the public know that these calls will be given priority treatment. I've called on both the large roving groups of dirt bikes/ATV's and on people working on them in their nearby garages (after the vehicles illegally drove there), and have been underwhelmed by the police attitude and response time (if any response) to those calls.
It also would have been nice if the City's two state legislators (Schlossberg & Schweyer) would have said they are introducing legislation to INCREASE the sentences and fines for those involved in such activity. Yes, it will have to be tailored to apply to only those areas over a certain population size (to avoid penalizing those in more rural areas), but it's an overdue move for a problem affecting cities statewide.
The recent arrests in the city are great but long overdue. City residents pay for the largest police force in the area, and the city's democrat politicians need to focus the force on what has rapidly degraded the quality of life here.
It will take much more action and many more mass arrests to make me believe that the "task force" announcement was anything more than political theater.
Mike, The bikes are not only on the streets but they are in your face, bicycles, dirt bikes, and various other illegal motor vehicles. They come right at you on one way streets, surround cars while traveling, ride in huge packs sometimes as large as 50-100. I've seen it all and the growing lawlessness that are Allentown's streets and roads. There are solutions to this problem. Asking for input and intelligence from frustrated residence is a good place to start. Making excuses for such brazen, dangerous, and intimidating activity is just more of the same demagoguery.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, I can't remember a time where I saw more litter throughout the city.
ReplyDeleteIt's everywhere, including just feet from City Hall, and needs to be addressed. It's not just temporary after trash nights or confined to one area - it's everywhere you look, all the time.
While I realize that you can't legislate pride, you can certainly enforce existing laws to promote the behavior you want.
I would suggest it's time for people in the city's recycling department to get out of their offices and into the neighborhoods to start writing citations. The current approach of sitting inside and waiting for resident complaints obviously isn't working.
If the new administration can't handle a simple thing like litter, how are residents supposed to believe that they'll fix the ATV/dirt bike problem, or any other major problem the city faces? Details matter.
I don’t understand why this illegal activity is tolerated. I was recently surrounded by a gang of these bikers while I was driving south on the 15th Street bridge. The one in front setting the pace while doing a wheelie across the bridge. What if he goofed? He would be under my car, dead or alive, and i would be at fault. They certainly don’t have insurance, since you can’t insure an illegal activity. They certainly aren’t wearing helmets. They know they are above the law. Stop tolerating this!
ReplyDeleteHeading south on S.15th street I was stopped at a red light, several kids on bikes coming up the hill in the opposite direction one headed straight for my car doing a wheely, at the last minute he swerved away. His intention clearly was to scare/alarm the driver/me. Being a veteran of this I maintained a bore look throughout. My small victory.
ReplyDeleteBlow off steam? Next, they will claim to be the victim when one of these delinquents performs a wheelie while splitting lanes and kills him/herself or worse some innocent person. Promise Neighborhoods will be enraged this happened to one of theirs with little respect for what they see as inconsequential consequences of their children's need to express their emotional immaturity
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