Suburbia; the trees, the space, the noise.
The incessant buzzing, unrelenting roaring, eardrum piercing, headache-inducing noise. Six days a week. Nonstop. Leaf-blowers and loud mowers have impaired our quality of life. Want to open a window on a cool spring day for some fresh air?
You can’t.
One of your neighbors or you yourself has the gardener working, and the noise is intolerable.
Want to lounge in your yard on a summer day with a good book?
You can’t.
Want to have a conversation in your driveway with a neighbor?
You can’t.
The noise is intolerable. The gardeners wear sound-muffling ear protection. We don’t. Not to mention the foul smell of gasoline.
What can we do? First, we can fight to eliminate leaf blower use until leaves are needed to be blown—October. Or perhaps, mandate quiet electric blowers.
Here’s another idea which would cut this health-hazard and annoyance in half:
Have our lawns cut every other week. There is a benefit to this: longer grass keeps moisture in. Longer grass keeps weeds out. Longer grass grows longer, healthier roots for healthier grass.
If you are home during the day, you are aware that our homes have become a prison. You can’t go on your front porch or in your yard when the gardeners are on your street or around your block.
If you put a higher value on quality of life and peace than “perfect” grass, you can do something. In Munsey Park, I am asking those who agree to email Mayor Lawrence A. Ceriello at lceriello@munseypark.org about this issue.
—Denise Polis
