Ephrata council considers compression brake ordinance

EPHRATA — Last week the Ephrata City Council discussed the possibility of adding a “Jake” Brake Ordinance, stemming from a letter from a community member.

At the March 20 city council meeting, Ephrata council members were presented with a letter from resident Dean Carroll asking the council to look into and possibly create a compression brake ordinance in Ephrata. City Administrator Ray Towry told the council this was a letter that had been presented before, however, it was before many of the current council members were appointed. 

Carroll’s letter states that he lives on the southwest side of town and hears trucks applying their compression brakes “at all hours.” He said he looked into, but could not find, a policy on compression brake use for the City of Ephrata and hoped the council could discuss this issue and hopefully put an ordinance into effect.

Mayor Bruce Reim told the council that the last time the ordinance was considered, the council had concerns about being able to enforce the ordinance and the repercussions of liability if it is not enforced. Those same thoughts were echoed by the current council because an officer needs to witness when the use of the compression brake happens for it to be enforced.

Towry said that in conversation with Carroll, he felt that Carroll thought that simply putting a sign up of the ordinance would cut down on a lot of the brake usage. 

“His thought was honestly if you just put the signs up, it’s going to probably cut it down by a significant percentage just by people trying to do the right thing because it’s common — there’s lots of cities that have it,” said Towry.

While the council did not seem opposed to signage, there were points brought up by Public Works Director Rob Harris about sign clutter as well as the cost and time to put up and maintain new signage. 

There was a short discussion about current truck routes through town and if there was any way changing them would help but given the geography of Ephrata and the area Carroll was concerned about, it didn’t seem like a feasible option to council members. 

“The main concern for this individual was coming into town, rather than being in town,” Reim added, referring to Carroll’s home being close to Basin Street where the speed limit turns from 50 miles an hour to 35 miles an hour on the southwest side of Ephrata by the Best Western.

Council member Sarah McDonnell voiced her support for signage if they can manage expectations around not enforcing the ordinance but also trying to keep the Ephrata Community as quiet as possible.

“I feel like any time somebody brings a quality of life issue in our city limits is something we should consider,” McDonnell said.

The council did not take any action, but wants to look into more information about what other cities are doing regarding this issue and plans to research more about their options before making any decision.

Rebecca Pettingill is a freelance writer and photographer based in Ephrata.

    City Administrator Ray Towry, middle, tells Ephrata City Council about the letter he received requesting the addition of a “Jake” brake ordinance to curb street noises in the city.
  

    Ephrata Mayor Bruce Reim listens as city staff and council members discuss a possible solution to noise disruptions from large vehicles passing through town. Reim is slated to be on the panel at tonight’s 6 p.m. We are Ephrata Town Hall at the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center. Entry is free and the public is encouraged to attend.