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Comments
A pretty big stretch to blame
A pretty big stretch to blame the mayor for people riding off-road vehicles where they're not supposed to.
They tolerate it because it's a black park
.
Seriously?
It's OK, it's not 1956 anymore, you can wake up.
As somebody else has mentioned here, the issue is not wanting to risk some sort of horrible crash in going after them. They do the same for high-speed car chases, i.e., they don't - they'll hope to spot the car later rather than risk a crash that could involve innocent people.
went nuts about 1 day delivery
But this you're going to let slide?
Maybe I can help you
When I go to Franklin Park, which is located in Jamaica Plain (never considered a "black" part of town) I see people of all sorts of races and ethnicities. The same is true we're you to visit Castle Island, which is located in what is considered to be a "white" part of town.
The stupid cyclists are tolerated (which annoys me to no end) because if the police employed effective tactics to stop this, the odds are that, at a minimum, accusations of excessive force would be leveled while the chances of an innocent bystander being injured or worse would be there.
D.C. is claiming to be cracking down on this. Let's see how that goes.
Unenforceable
I love Franklin Park. It's oasis in the middle of the city. It's also underutilized. The very people that social justice advocates want to help don't use the park for the same reasons mentioned in the comments section here. However you can't enforce the laws: arresting Black bikers will be branded racist. The unintended consequence is the people we want to help are left without the recreational outlet they deserve.
Black park, Do you even go
Black park, Do you even go there?
They tolerate it because they don't want to see innocent bystanders get run down.
Black guys and their bikes
Yeah I go there a lot. And I see a lot that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else in Boston.
Dirtbiking around Franklin Park as well as the neighborhood is a way for these black guys to show off when they don't have cars, and stick it to the man too.
The police and politicians tolerate it because they have failed to figure out why black people are so poor, or do much about it, and the dirtbike thing gives these guys something to do.
If they cracked down on this these kids they would probably do something worse.
Trump
2016.
Those white kids riding the
dirt bikes are bussed in from the suburbs by Mayor Walsh.
A pretty big stretch to blame
A pretty big stretch to blame the city government and the mayor for the city's failure to enforce the laws?
It seems to me, however, that
Mayor Walsh's Administration, law enforcement people, and average run-of-the-mill citizens will have to really put their heads together and discuss what to do about this situation, because it really does put other people in danger, plus, as other posters on here have point out, the noise is obnoxious, to boot.
Very clever.
Had me chuckling but I can imagine the frustration.
I Wonder
If they gave them a whole day and an entire chunk of the city to race in, would that be enough? Say, over labor day weekend?
Oh - wait ... these don't come with big money sponsors.
This all said, there are
This all said, there are talks that Able Baker Charlie Governor has "discussed" an off-road park.
Great idea--which town volunteers to host?
It's not like a dog park or a skating rink. It's by definition a really noisy, dangerous activity. I'd love to see a park built but I'd NIMBY that one so fast it'll make your head spin. And yes, I currently live in dirt bike central so I know how obnoxious they are.
Well done, though it may go
Well done, though it may go over the heads of the type that would dirt bike and blast music at insane volumes in a park. Stick a few of these on Marty's SUVs every morning.
I'm in Franklin Park every week and the only time I've seen park rangers there was last week when Marky Mark was filming his inevitably terrible movie at Doyles and they had the trailers and equipment parked in the park. When gangs of dirtbikers are there on a daily basis the rangers are no where to be found. I've seen cops sit around and do nothing when dirt bikers are within earshot. You can't go for a run anywhere in this city without having to worry about getting hit by a motor vehicle and inhaling its toxic emissions.
Powerless
I really disagree with the police department's decision to only seize the bikes when unattended. I understand the police are rightly wary of a lawsuit and liability in the event of a high speed pursuit gone wrong. But at this point I think the only viable deterrent is to love tap the dirt bikes into oblivion with a police cruiser. This is risky, but less so than the inevitable alternative: some citizen decides they need to go vigilante, since the police are not doing enough, and starts stringing wires between trees in the park.
Steinert's is closing
maybe there's a sale on piano wire.
But seriously, bad idea. Disproportionate retribution. Don't do this, please.
So
Giant elastic bands, then?
Tire Damage Hazard
I wonder if they can put something at the trail entrances that will shred tires? I wonder if these d-bags could even change a tire.
Anything that would damage motorized dirt bikes ....
such as piano wire or tire shredders, would be equally bad for pedal-powered mountain and hybrid bicycles. So, please don't.
Not exactly true
There are plenty of places where tire damage grates are placed to stop cars and motorcycles, but bikes can easily ride around them. Place them at the fenced entrances and put up big signs warning cyclists, and leave room to walk a bike around them. I have seen setups where there is a central grate with two concrete pieces to each side that will allow a bike tire (or a fattbike to be lifted over), but won't allow a dirt wheel to pass.
I'm not sure that all these paths that are being used are legal for mountain bikes, either.
It's a 250 acre park.
And criss-crossed with miles of trails. There is no way that anything like this would be remotely feasible.
.
.
Then Dewey, Cheetam & Howe
will be posting flyers.
Let's hope that
this:
never, ever come to pass, because that would really be a disaster. It sounds as if something needs to be done about the dirt-bikers and their dangerous actions and behaviors, but vigilantism on the part of ordinary, average everyday citizens definitely is not the answer.
Last week, I watched a group
Last week, I watched a group ride their dirbikes literally through the back yard of the DCR Boston Region Stony Brook Headquarters next to Smith Field in Hyde Park. Nobody did anything about it, and no cop ever responded to my 911 call. The trails in Stony Brook Reservation are getting all torn up from these idiots (not to mention the brush fire last week that was likely started by attendees at the open air drug market that has sprung up around Turtle Pond lately), and I have never once seen a ranger in the Stony Brook.
Thank your governor and
Thank your governor and ineffective state house for dcr shitty budget
well...
one of the rangers that was working during the movie shoot was there on a detail. i usually talk to him when im walking my dogs in franklin park and i see him all the time on horseback or in a car. when i spoke to him he told me they were on a detail and not on the cities dime at that time. i have seen them all over the emerald necklace, but with their numbers you have to also think about it, just because you dont see them, doesnt mean they arent there, ;)
Trust me when I say most bpr
Trust me when I say most bpr Rangers stay in the car
Funny you should say that, i
Funny you should say that, i actually mentioned that same thing to the ranger i was talking about, and he was saying that they patrol in vehicles, and the reason they dont go out and walk to far from their vehicles is in case they get a call they are near the car and can go and respond. But its like i said before, just because we may not see it, doesnt mean it isnt done, and the ranger i spoke to is a pretty nice guy, so im willing to gove him the benefit of the doubt.
Funny and they are awful.
Funny and they are awful.
They should also add the Columbia Road Speedway, where wheelies are encouraged as well as surrounding cars, crash-up derbies and general mayhem.
To be fair, this has been going on long before Marty Walsh took over. Menino and Capt Sexton at C11 had the same lukewarm enforcement.
brilliant !
in the words of Admiral Ackbar "it's a trap" !
There were a couple guys
There were a couple guys riding motorized dirt bikes in Mt. Auburn Cemetery last Saturday... incredibly disrespectful as there was a funeral going on. Popping wheelies while people are trying to bury their loved one. Jerks.
Definitely not allowed there
Even bicycles are not allowed in Mount Auburn Cemetery.
I do often see people riding
I do often see people riding bikes through Mt. Auburn... even though you're not supposed to. Bikes are at least quiet.
The one and only time I bicycled through Mount Auburn...
... I got stopped and told to leave my bike in the rack near the entrance. I haven't tried again since then. (Forest Hills Cemetery is fine with cyclists.)
Even to visit a grave?
Even to visit a grave? That doesn't seem right, when you can drive.
I agree, but that's the rule
Maybe they would make a special exception for someone with a disability that prevents walking long distances -- but that's not me, so I've never asked.
Add Comm Ave to the mix
Last Friday at packards corner about 50-60 of these spirited youths came flying down on their four wheelers and dirtbikes. Half were popping wheelies, the other half without helmets (but dont worry guys, having your hoodies up is adequate protection!). It'll take a pedestrian getting ran over before any real crackdown occurs.
Why?
You mean like the "real crackdown" that occurs when a car runs over a pedestrian?
S. Huntington
I saw them the other day going up S. Huntington where the T tracks are. That was fun. As someone who's been in a car accident 'cause of those T tracks, trying to avoid these crazies while being on the tracks sounds like a great time.
And Washington St. in the South End near Peters Park
where I've seen some of them do wheelies while riding down the wrong lane against oncoming traffic. There's a busy crosswalk there right next to the little league field, and it's only a matter of time before someone is hit and killed.
so thick..
Sarcasm so thick, you can taste it!
Cops should attach some
netting to SUVs and corral them.
They should also work to encourage the community to out their neighbors participating in this nonsense.
Is this a clever way to round
Is this a clever way to round up all the gang members who ride down Columbus wearing black bandanas on their faces and genuflecting hand symbols at the public???
BIkers
It's disappointing that these bikers do this....and it only takes one biker to ruin the peace of entire neighborhood, and the buzzing of dirtbikes carries far too.
Sooner than later there's
Sooner than later there's going to be a bad accident. Mark my words. I hope they don't ever dare riding the J-Way like that.
Afraid your hope is dashed
I've seen bikers on the JWay acting as though the city belongs to them. Both by creating enough noise to piss off God as well as driving dangerously.
I thought the city had been
I thought the city had been in the process of rounding up a lot of machines and hauling them away. That was the news last year so what happened ? Was that only for ones parked illegally, and does anybody know what ever became of all the things they seized ? That had seemed successful at the time but in light of this, I guess not.
Not a 1st Amendment Right to make noise?
A conversation with one of the older bikers might be interesting. I'm curious how they rationalize that extremely loud noise, endangering themselves and endangering others is okay. Would they are argue it's part of their free speech?
Or perhaps the problem lies in it being socially acceptable to make loud noise and harass people on the street? Socially acceptable because these behaviors are effectively tolerated to the point where anyone who objects is assumed wrong.
Tonight a person was playing her car speakers at top volume while riding through the neighborhood. I (in a less than tolerant mood) yelled "turn it down." Admittedly I was impolite and should have yelled "Please turn it down." Yelling was necessary since the driver was already 50' away and I didn't expect a normal voice to carry over the volume of her car speakers.
I say her because after a bit of verbal jousting, where I realized the driver was female, I also realized the driver was probably African-American. How did I know that? She yelled "something something up cracker."
Having grown up in the 70s and watched All in the Family I knew what cracker meant in that context.
So here we had someone who believes she has a right to make whatever noise she wants in public, with her car, at any volume, and when someone objects she has a right to hurl a racist insult. She's given information indicating the behavior of harassing with noise is socially unacceptable and her response is to jump into a diatribe of verbal animosity ending with a racial epithet. Why? Because in her small world that is acceptable behavior.
Perhaps the message that this woman grew up with is that harmful behavior - whether as harassing neighborhoods or hurling racist at strangers - is tolerated. And that message is one that is still one of her rules for how to conduct herself in public.
George Jefferson never said cracker
His insult was honkey.
For the love of god!!
Will you racists stop complaining about EVERYTHING someone does! You do not own the park nor do you have any right to dictate what anyone does in the park! You do not have that AUTHORITY and your white skin and white privilege thinking does not give you that right either! I am so sick of you racist complaining about every little thing. What gives any of you the right to yell to someone to turn their car stereo down?! You people are sickening and super annoying! Don't like what is going on in the park, MOVE! Rent or buy some place else and learn to CO EXIST with others and leave the NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS ALONE!!
I have a great idea, MOVE!! GET OUT or shut up!
The park belongs to everyone
Who mentioned anything about skin or privilege? If people ride motorized vehicles on the grass and through the woods, that ruins the park for everyone.
Here's a better idea
Why don't these kids respect the laws, and specifically the park rules?
And you decided to play the race card, why do the likes of you hide behind race when these cretins are ruining the quality of life for their neighbors, who are by and large the same race as they are?