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Recent noise complaints by residents living on the hill coming down the Gunflint Trail near the Cook County Law Enforcement Center were discussed at the Grand Marais City Council meeting.
Specifically, residents living along that stretch were complaining about the noise large commercial trucks make when they use what is referred to as a Jake Brake.
What are Jake brakes?
The name comes from the company that created them in 1961; Jacobs Vehicle System Inc. Jake brakes are compression release engine brakes that slow a large capacity carrying truck, typically as it is coming down a hill. The newer trucks make little sound, but older trucks aren’t equipped with the same sound dampening equipment and those Jake brakes make a loud squealing sound.
Ten truckers were in the audience, with several speaking during the citizen comment period.
Dean Berglund approached the council first. Explaining that he has been a truck driver for 41 years, trucking through the country and most of Canada, Berglund said, “The last truck to lose its breaks and go into Lake Superior didn’t have a Jake brake.”
Berglund, who often trucks from Hedstrom Lumber Mill to Canada, said he never received a complaint about using his Jake brake until councilor Anton Moody—a home builder—built homes on the upper side of the Gunflint Trail above the law enforcement center and just below the water tower. He said Moody knew he was building houses along a truck route.
Berglund also noted the last truck to use the runaway truck run-off by the Grand Marais water tower also didn’t have a Jake brake. He called the re-route of the Gunflint Trail that allows trucks to enter town more slowly away from the hospital and the steep grade that used to lead straight to Highway 61 on the old Gunflint Trail, “A Godsend.”
Jake Brakes, said Berglund, are a “huge, huge safety factor for drivers.”
In the 1980s, weight limits for trucks were upped by 20,000 pounds. That extra carrying weight added more stress on wheel brakes, said Berglund. Berglund said those brakes heat up fast and can’t always stop a truck in time if you don’t use your Jake brake. “I don’t want to be the guy who hits a kid or T-bones a car because I didn’t use my Jake brake,” added Berglund. “We’re here to ask you to put this (Jake brake) issue to a rest.”
Kent Anderson, a local logger and Mill Consultant at Hedstrom Lumber Co., told the council that the long grade of the Gunflint Trail leading into Grand Marais was the highest and longest grade in Minnesota and the Great Lake States. “If you were to put an ordinance in place, they (truckers) would ignore it and continue to use their Jake brakes.” He said this was a noise issue, but safety should come first.
Anders Zimmer is a hard-working young truck driver. He spoke next, explaining that not everyone could afford to buy a $150,000 truck that was quiet. “I’m not trying to wake people up. I have to get up every day at 12:30 a.m. to do my job. That’s not going to change.” Anders has added mufflers to his truck to lessen the noise his Jake brakes make. “I’m not doing this (using his Jake brakes) on purpose. I’m just doing my job to make a living.”
Grand Marais City Attorney Chris Hood, who was on camera remotely— said the issue was one of noise, and the city already had a noise ordinance. “You have a very basic code on this issue,” Hood said, adding the offense was criminal but to prosecute it, one needed evidence. “Does the sheriff deputy stand outside on the road with a decibel reader?”
And that’s where Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliason weighed in, coming to the table with his comments. Eliason, who at one time drove a truck and used his Jake brake, explained the process of collecting ambient noise before and after a truck came by the same area used its’ Jake brakes. Eliasen asked if he was supposed to leave a deputy stand for hours to maybe take a decibel reading? Plus pay the overtime hours required to collect the evidence? Eliason said he is already short on staff and doesn’t have the equipment or the staff training needed to run the equipment to do the work. In addition, he said the noise ordinance at times was no doubt being broken. “It’s a conundrum for sure,” he said.
Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken also appeared via the internet. She said she and Sheriff Pat Eliasen talked this past summer about trying to enforce the noise ordinance caused by truckers and added that both found it difficult to enforce the noise ordinance with “limited technical knowledge.”
She also said that other cities and areas that enforce this noise issue might have different geographical reasons than those facing Cook County and the City of Grand Marais. Last, she said if this were a safety versus noise issue, she would “put safety ahead of noise.”
Sherriff Eliasen added this was a “very sensitive issue to people on either side of it.” But he noted he would like to see safety first, rather than making something prohibitive. “That’s my professional and personal opinion. But I don’t think you can do it.”
Councilor Tracy Benson asked if the issue was pretty much behind us now that the two-year Highway 61 project is done. “Is this an issue anymore? Now that we are pretty much back to normal?”
Councilor Anton Moody said he asked a question about the noise caused by Jake Brakes, but he wasn’t calling for a new ordinance. He said the issue was a cumbersome burden for the sheriff ’s department, and it probably involved two trucks. And, he said to Anders Zimmer, “It’s not you, Anders.”
“Public safety is number one,” added Moody.
Council Craig Schulte said he drove a garbage truck for 19 years, and although it didn’t have a Jake brake, he went up and down the Gunflint Trail often on his route, and he noted the steep grade. “Truck safety is a very important issue to the truckers and the other drivers on the road.” So, if a trucker felt they needed to use their Jake brake, that shouldn’t be an issue. Using a Jake brake is using a tool to promote safety. Schulte said.
After much discussion Council put the issue to rest, and Mayor Jay Decoux thanked the truck drivers for coming and helping explain the importance of Jake brakes.
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