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A few simple, affordable laws would immensely benefit Maui residents and visitors alike. They all involve noise abatement. There is no reason anyone should be frequently exposed to loud noises that cause anxiety, hypertension, hearing loss and other health problems.
First, enforce muffler laws and motorcycle noise limits. And enforce speed limits.
For example, along all of Makawao Avenue, the limit is 20 mph, but cars, trucks, and motorcycles routinely speed two to three times that.
Instead of a quiet neighborhood, we live next to a virtual freeway. Anyone living within 100 yards must pause a conversation, a television or music a hundred times a day.
This causes stress, which leads to health problems. Moreover, this kind of speeding on a winding, often wet, road is dangerous.
Second, ban non-electric yard maintenance equipment such as weed whackers, mowers and, above all, the cursed leaf blowers.
I've watched yard crews (private, county and state) make a huge racket and emit tons of smelly exhaust just to move a few leaves around even as the wind combats their efforts.
We should be less obsessive and more tolerant of fallen leaves.
Incidentally, Home Depot has committed to only electric yard gear in the near future.
Finally, we should consider "quiet zones" near schools, hospitals and libraries, where drivers and bikers could be cited for making excessive noise.
Kurt Butler
Makawao