Mayor Joe Jenkins has asked the police department to restrict use of the city's gun range in response to complaints from residents living near the site in southeast Provo.
But, until a new shooting range is completed in Provo Canyon - which will be next spring at the earliest - residents are going to have live with the gunfire.In a letter and petition to the mayor and council, the residents complained about the noise and safety hazards caused by increased use of the range and said truckloads of tires hauled to the site create a fire hazard and risk of rat and mosquito infestation.
"People hear (the gunfire) from clear two blocks, three blocks away," said resident Lloyd E. Rasmussen. "You can't plan anything on your patio because people come and their reaction is `How can you stand this?' "
The gun range is on the other side of a road at the back of Rasmussen's property at approximately 300 S. 1500 East.
Rasmussen said the gun range is in use all hours of the day and night, including Sundays and holidays.
"At first they had it as a pistol range and the police used it in the day, but now they go to 10 p.m. at night and with big bazookas," Rasmussen said. "I don't know what they are using."
The residents' letter states the noise is "very annoying to adults and frightening to children." Rasmussen acknowledged that residents moved into the area knowing the range was there; he said it wouldn't be such a problem if only police officers were using it and they restricted use to weekday, daytime hours.
Mark West, president of Provo's Police Mutual Aid Association, which leases the range from the city, said officers need access to a shooting range to maintain proficiency in the use of firearms.
"We feel those complaints are totally without basis," West said. "Most of the shooting I'm aware of goes on during the daytime hours."
The association does allow other groups to use the range, such as Scout troops, the National Guard and ROTC units from Brigham Young University.
West said he'd never seen rats or evidence of rats at the site in the 10 years he's been using the range and that the tires posed no fire hazard. Illegal shooting along the foothills may be the source of some of the noise bothering the neighbors, West said. Also, the Utah County Sheriff's Department has a shooting range not far away.
In a letter responding to the residents' complaints, West said, "It should be understood that this is a shooting range, therefore a variety of different weapons are being fired. As far as safety is concerned, I would infer that every precaution has been taken and our record of safety is perfect."
West said, "We're going to utilize the range as long as we can or until an alternate range is available to use."
Once the new range is open, "there will be no need to have a gun range in the southeast part of town," Jenkins said.