Dear Editor,
I write in response to Moab’s recent Rally On The Rocks.
While I acknowledge and appreciate Moab’s draw as a recreational paradise, this particular side-by-side event posed problems that I feel personally responsible to address. My first concern is a safety issue.
I can certainly understand the sheer joy of bringing these vehicles to fly over the rocks in the desert, but driving them on the street seems to be a separate issue.
I was personally cut off in traffic twice during their recent event, once when having the right of way on Main Street to make a right-hand turn onto 1st North, but being forced to wait as six of them, caravan style, made a left-hand turn in front of me, totally disregarding their legal responsibility to yield.
They move as fast as mosquitoes and seem to travel in swarms and I am honestly concerned that someone, either an event participant or a member of our Moab community, could in the future be seriously or fatally injured.
Also, because I live on property located in town, I am perturbed, troubled and distressed by the noise level made by the vehicles throughout the day and well into the night as they zip up and down our streets. I hear them constantly where I am situated and I can’t imagine how people closer to Main Street find any peace and quiet at all during the event.
I enjoy every aspect of living in this unique environment and feel that this particular event diminishes the quality of life in our Moab community.
Like voting, freedom of speech allows us to express our concerns publicly and responsibly. I would urge others who experienced discomfort and distress during this rally to write a letter expressing your concern to the editor (moabsunnewseditor@gmail.com), or write or email your Grand County representative (Grand County Courthouse, Attention County Council, 125 E. Center Street, Moab, Utah 84532; council@grandcountyutah.net), or speak with a member of the Grand County Council (Council Administrator, 435-259-1347) and ask them to ponder their commitment to public safety, welfare, or safety and unreasonable inconvenience or cost to the public, and ask them to deny a permit for next year’s side-by-side Rally On The Rocks.
