Resident Complains About Truck Noise in Ford City

Albert Garay addressed the problem of noise coming from certain trucks coming down the Ford City Hill at 5:30 AM and waking residents at Ford City Borough Council’s monthly meeting last night.

 by David Croyle

A local resident threatened to take matters into his own hands if Ford City Borough Council refused to enforce their noise ordinance.

Albert Garay came to last night’s meeting at the Ford City Library armed with notes and copies of ordinances he printed from the borough website.

Garay, who lives on the 500 block of Fifth Avenue, complained of noise coming from trucks traveling down the Ford City hill.

According to Garay, there several trucks that do not have a muffler installed at all or improperly. As they come down the hill and use their “Jake Brake” to slow them down, the sound if deafening.

The Jake Brake takes its name from the manufacturer who invented the most common implementation of the technology, the Jacobs Company. It is an add-on engine brake for diesel engines. Since trucks can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds, Stopping them or slowing them down results in a great deal of wear on the brakes, which have to be replaced frequently. The Jake brake, as an engine system, causes no wear and tear, and can help slow the truck before the wheel brakes need to be applied. Its primary use is on long downhill grades where the wheel brakes would otherwise have to be frequently pumped to keep the truck from gaining dangerous speed.

When the Jake Brake is activated, the compression of the motor causes a noise to be released through the muffler. However, Garay said the problem is not the braking system itself – citing Rosebud Mining trucks that are not loud when using their Jake Brake.  

“Jake Brakes are not loud like people think. It is not the Jake Brake. It is the muffler on these trucks.  It is an old truck. A beat-up truck. Obviously they cannot afford to put mufflers on them.”

This isn’t the first time Garay pleaded his case with Council. In November 2010, he came with the same complaint.

“This has been going on before I came to council in 2010. I was told to identify the truck. It’s a red truck. It’s a blue truck. I was advised by friend in Pittsburgh that I should audio and video tape it so I have everything on record,” Garay said.

Last night Garay read from a 1961 ordinance, number 399, to substantiate his right to resolution of the problem.

“Section 1 – All unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise of such character, intensity, and duration as to be detrimental to the life, health , peace, or welfare of any individual is hereby declared to be a nuisance and is prohibited.”

Councilman Paul Harmon agreed with Garay. “I know on the north end of town where I live, I can hear them coming down the hill – and I live way over on 3^rd Avenue!”

Mayor Marc Mantini said he has personally observed trucks coming down the hill at a fast rate of speed, which he feels contributes to the need for using Jake Brakes.

Garay’s remarks signaled utter frustration.

“Now something needs to be done before they come down and arrest me, because I have had it up to here,” he said gesturing over his head.

While Council sympathized with Garay, there was no directive to the police department to increase enforcement activities and catch the perpetrators.

CROYLE: Sad Time in County Government

County government has deteriorated so much that Jim Scahill could win a write-in campaign if another election was held today.

The bright future outlook of last November has denigrated into a cesspool of cynical frustration. Not only have the three county commissioners failed to find common ground, they are running from each other.

Commissioner Bob Bower still maintains his Coroner’s hat as the public shakes their head and loses faith in his campaign promises.

Commissioner Battaglia perhaps has turned out to be the saddest case of them all. Embroiled in not only a cloud of low public opinion due to personnel issues that raised eyebrows within the first 30 days of his tenure, he now has even closest supporters distancing themselves as he turns even a simple campaign report into a political hot potato. Instead of leadership, we have received yet another layer of isolation as he hides behind out-of-county lawyers.

While Commissioner Fink started out on the bottom (in terms of votes), he has proven to be the only man left standing in the room of rumors and court proceedings.

Will Dave be able to hide the identity of the $7,800 donors? Does Bob want to run county government or run on coroner calls? Can Rich continue to insulate himself from the mess? Tune in to this continuing saga for the next 1,364 days of their term to find out. Yes, unfortunately, some are counting.  

As my dad would say, “Son, we need to have a talk!”