MMA Update: Meeting concerning Proposed MOTORCYCLE RIDES BAN By-Law in the Town of Yarmouth
March 20, 2015 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association is pleased to report that the public meeting held Tuesday, March 17 at the West Barnstable Community Center was a resounding success with well over 50 riders attending.
Topics at hand included the citizen complaints of motorcycle sound in the Town of Yarmouth, and the police department’s response to these complaints. These complaints have promptedoneYarmouth citizen to get two special articles into the warrant for the upcoming May 2nd town meeting.
One article seeks to BAN MOTORCYCLE RIDES “in and through” the town of Yarmouth by withholding permit issuance, while the other article seeks enhanced police department reporting to town officials concerning citations writtenfor motorcycle sound emissions violations. The MMA is aware that neither the town of Yarmouth nor the Commonwealth of Massachusetts require a permit for a motorcycle ride.Also, the MMA has concerns about motorcyclists’ privacy, discrimination if motorcyclists are singled out as a class, and the impact on local law enforcement if citations are reported.
The town meeting process wasalso discussed so all riders know what to expect at the meeting. More than half of the attendees were Yarmouth residents and the importance of their votes was stressed. Addressing the non-Yarmouth riders, MMA Officers suggested they write letters to the editor of the Cape Cod Times, and to call into the local talk radio show to express their concerns for this proposed ban. The local media on Cape Cod is closely following this issue and numerous letters have been published in the newspaper. Additionally, live radio shows have been broadcast discussing this topic.
If the ban is passed at the town meeting, MMA Officers described the additional process in which the article would then be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office to determine its legality. The MMA enjoys a great working relationship with the AGO and will closely follow future movements should the need arise.
Riders were reminded that the key focus in Yarmouth is motorcycle noise and citizen complaints about this noise; whether they agree with this or not, it is the issue at hand. Though at least 2 charity rides would be affected, what is really at stake here is your right to ride with dignity. Hearing that the MMA has worked against these motorcycle sound emission issues since 2002, and has in fact defeated every initiative in towns across the state, riders were urged to get all of their Yarmouth friends and family to the town meeting so that we can collectively stop this initiative, hopefully permanently.
The Yarmouth Town Meeting is scheduled for Saturday May 2, 2015, 10AM, at the Mattachesse Middle School. Although all concerned parties may attend, we are specifically seeking votingYarmouth town residents to stand up at the meeting on behalf of all the motorcyclists of Massachusetts.
The MMA is the nationally recognized State Motorcycle Rights Organization for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has been in continual operation since 1975. Please contact LegislativeDirector@MassMotorcycle.org with any questions. Further details regarding the MMA can be found at www.MassMotorcycle.org
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