request that it be located on the East End base lands. There are indications that the request is being considered, along with others.

The argument in favour of a track seems to be that young riders will let off steam on the track and not on the roads. But, of course, there is no guarantee of that and every possibility that what they do on the track they will continue to do on the roads.

In any case a motocross track would not be good news for residents of the East End which is already home to most of the "noisy noises'' in Bermuda.

Let's just look at the list. St. George's Parish has the Airport which, unlike airports in many urban areas, does not have an overnight ban on flights. Many people might think that the Airport provides enough noise for one area of the Country. But St. George's has the power boat races at Ferry Reach and practice sessions which often roar into St. George's Harbour. It has the noisy intrusion of the helicopter. It also has two concert sites at Clearwater Beach and at Tiger Bay.

Then there is the almost unbelievable whine of the model boats operated on weekends near Swing Bridge and audible miles away. The harbour is a venue for frequent and very noisy boat cruises of one kind and another, quite often at night. There is also extensive use of jet skis in the Harbour and at Ferry Reach.

People in the Town of St. George, which is much more residential than Hamilton, also tolerate the noise of regular cruise boats and the noise of their on-deck events which are frequently crew parties and thus not visitor related.

Surely that is enough without adding motocross to the St. David's area.

We know that for years Government has paid scant attention to the East End.

St. George's has to help itself has been the attitude. We think that attitude even extended to policing and St. George's has been deprived of the number of police it needs. Well, now the old town is helping itself and some quite remarkable things are happening. The town is undergoing a renaissance.

In the process it would be wise to remember that noise is pollution. Noise destroys the quality of life. It is difficult to control noise on a small Island but we should be trying to do so. The roads are noisier than ever and specific noisy events seem to be increasing. We think it would be wrong to expect that life at the East End should be disrupted more than it is right now.