5-13-2023 6:41am

Ordinance Changes Focus On Dangerous Driving Behavior

Tom Akaolisa Editor

Dangerous driving behavior is targeted in ordinance changes that were adopted unanimously by the Coon Rapids City Council April 18.

City Attorney David Brodie said that the amendments were needed because while current ordinance language addressed some problems, it was too general and did not focus on “varied dangerous driving behaviors” observed by law enforcement in Coon Rapids and elsewhere in Anoka County.

The changes eliminate previous ordinance language and add clauses tailored specifically for law enforcement concerns that will be “another tool for officers to use,” Brodie said.

Brodie pulled language from state statute as well as other cities’ ordinances as the best way to address the issues.

“The goal is to be more proactive to create a safer community,” Police Chief John Stahnke said at April 4 council meeting.

The amended ordinance has five clauses, which Brodie spelled out for council.

The first focuses general inappropriate driving behavior, for example, “no person shall drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions,” while clause two states, “No person shall engage in a reckless driving exhibition.”

Brodie explained that this is defined as breaking the traction of the vehicle tires, unnecessarily spinning the tires continuously by increasing engine speed, steering the vehicle in a way unnecessary to navigate — or stopping the vehicle in an unnecessarily abrupt manner.

The third clause bans street racing, which the ordinance describes as “operation of more than one vehicle in a competitive manner to out-distance each other.”

“There have been instances of street racing in Coon Rapids,” Brodie said.

Clause four addresses noise issues by requiring vehicles to have an exhaust system that blends engine noise into the overall vehicle noise, no vehicle can produce a sharp popping or crackling sound and the vehicle must comply with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency noise rules.

Under the final clause, the ordinance applies not only to drivers, but also to passengers, non-driving participants and organizers if they aid and abet illegal behavior in some way, but mere presence at a racing event is not a violation, Brodie said.

One impetus for the ordinance changes was the summer car cruising event Saturday evenings on Coon Rapids Boulevard that began in 2020 during the pandemic when classic car shows were banned because of social distancing requirements.

The organized event, which started in April and ran through Labor Day on the boulevard from Foley to Mississippi boulevards, produced both positive and negative reactions and prompted a council work session Nov. 10, 2020.

In a memo to the council for that meeting, City Manager Matt Stemwedel wrote that there were regular complaints about noise, driving behaviors, traffic and other issues from residents and the police department had to dip into overtime to have enough officers to handle crowd and traffic control.

However, a survey conducted by the city showed that a large majority of residents (64%) in the immediate area of the boulevard who responded were in favor of the summer cruising event continuing.

But the 2021 event was scaled back by the organizer, and, there appeared to be less organized cruising in 2022 and he was not aware of any planned for this year, Brodie said.

Council Member Brad Greskowiak said the ordinance changes made sense and were a good step in dealing with the issues.

Council Member Jennifer Geisler agreed it was a step in the right direction, but it was not a “silver bullet” that will solve every problem.

Even though he lives a quarter of a mile from Coon Rapids Boulevard, Council Member Sean Novack said noise from the boulevard has been an issue in his neighborhood and he thanked staff for producing the ordinance that “will hopefully address it."