We the undersigned do hereby call for respect from the Philadelphia Ride the Ducks Tour Company. The Ride the Ducks Tours are loud, noisy, obnoxious and an ear sore to local citizens of the Philadelphia area. By blasting music, shouting over a loud PA system, and encouraging the tooting of "quackers", the Ride the Ducks Tours consistently disrupt the life of the average Philadelphian and are violating a number of noise pollution laws. We ask for Ride the Ducks Tours to work for a better relationship with Philadelphia residents and by agreeing to three guidelines:
1) When driving through a residential area, Ride The Ducks Tours will respectfully lower their music, exhibit a more restrained use of the PA system, and encourage a more mindful use of "quackers."
2) Ride the Ducks Tours will revise their tour routes of Philadelphia to minimize exposure to the residential community.
3) Ride the Ducks Tour guides will no longer encourage tourists to "quack" at individuals on the street.
We hope that Ride the Ducks Tours aspires to have a better relationship with the citizens of Philadelphia, and will thus respect the wishes of the undersigned. By following these basic guidelines, we know that Philadelphia residents and Ride the Ducks Tours can peacefully co-exist in the great city of brotherly love.
We the undersigned do hereby call for respect from the Philadelphia Ride the Ducks Tour Company. The Ride the Ducks Tours are loud, noisy, obnoxious and an ear sore to local citizens of the Philadelphia area. By blasting music, shouting over a loud PA system, and encouraging the tooting of "quackers", the Ride the Ducks Tours consistently disrupt the life of the average Philadelphian and are violating a number of noise pollution laws. We ask for Ride the Ducks Tours to work for a better relationship with Philadelphia residents and by agreeing to three guidelines:
1) When driving through a residential area, Ride The Ducks Tours will respectfully lower their music, exhibit a more restrained use of the PA system, and encourage a more mindful use of "quackers."
2) Ride the Ducks Tours will revise their tour routes of Philadelphia to minimize exposure to the residential community.
3) Ride the Ducks Tour guides will no longer encourage tourists to "quack" at individuals on the street.
We hope that Ride the Ducks Tours aspires to have a better relationship with the citizens of Philadelphia, and will thus respect the wishes of the undersigned. By following these basic guidelines, we know that Philadelphia residents and Ride the Ducks Tours can peacefully co-exist in the great city of brotherly love.
2:54 pm PDT, Jul 15,Juli Donoho, Michigan
I was a tourist in the great city of Philly and I was appalled at the lack of respect these tour busses have for our history. I was standing in front of Independence Hall feeling filled with emotion for our fore fathers and then a quacking bus goes by. Why would a city allow such disrespect? Do you think they would have quacking bus tours go by the Vatican? I am pleading with the government of the great city of Philadelphia by showing respect for our history and shut the ducks up!
# 157:
10:07 am PDT, Jul 12,Sarah Bonkowski, Pennsylvania
# 156:
8:37 am PDT, Jul 7,Robert Thompson, Pennsylvania
The air pollution caused by the exhaust should be more than enough to put a stop to the Ducks!
# 155:
6:26 am PDT, Jul 7,Ted Howell, Pennsylvania
# 154:
9:12 am PDT, Jul 3,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
# 153:
12:11 pm PDT, Jun 30,Nicole Vergalla, Pennsylvania
# 152:
11:07 am PDT, Jun 18,Ima Wanker, United Kingdom
DIE DUCKS DIE! DAMN U ALL! I HATE U LITTLE DUCKY PEOPLE! HELL YEAH BABY! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!
# 151:
4:32 pm PDT, Jun 16,Arthur Meckler, Pennsylvania
I'm sure an hour ride on the Ducks can be a fun experience for someone visiting the city, but for the residents and businesses along the routes who are forced to listen to the quacking, the loudspeakers and the obnoxious music, all going at full volume, often all at the same time, over and over, all day, 7 days a week, all summer long, it is an extremely offensive and oppressive experience. As an Old City business person I am one of those people. One can only wonder why this obviously illegal pratice is being condoned by our elected representatives.
# 150:
5:38 pm PDT, Jun 15,Name not displayed, United States Minor Outlying Islands
# 149:
1:51 pm PDT, May 19,Sarah Davis, Pennsylvania
A friend recounted to me a rather racist tirade overheard from one duck tour guide when passing "Suit Corner" at 3rd and Market. Really, I'm just not a fan.
# 148:
1:33 pm PDT, May 14,Jessica Lewis-Turner, Pennsylvania
One day, I retired to the 18th century garden near 3rd and Walnut to do a little reading. The garden was wonderfully quiet, and after I looked at the flowers I sat underneath the arbor and opened my book. Unfortunately, I had only gotten a page read when a Duck Tour drove up. The tour guide gave their spiel about the place, and at the end said, "And here we have an 18th century maiden... let's give her a duck tour salute!" They all honked loudly and irritatingly. I'm sure "18th century maidens" didn't flip the bird, but they also weren't rudely interrupted by quacking jerks.
# 147:
7:36 pm PDT, Apr 30,Kathleen Tinagero, Pennsylvania
I find the duck tours to be demeaning to pedestrians, a vast addition to the already formidable air pollution in the area, and a noisy annoyance to the residents that are unfortunate enough to be located within the tour route.
# 146:
5:03 am PDT, Apr 25,Can Atik, Turkey
# 145:
1:48 pm PDT, Apr 23,Tom Mazza, Pennsylvania
I have a beautiful deck overlooking 2nd and South. The incessant noise from the Duck Tours ruins my quiet enjoyment of MY SPACE. And the tour guide treats us (residents) as if we are animals in the zoo. "South Street is blah, blah, blah ..often bad information or "facts"
# 144:
9:56 am PDT, Apr 23,Jeffrey McGinnis, Pennsylvania
If they could just turn the sound down and modify/vary their routes, it would be a huge help. If they aren't willing to, City Council should abolish their right to operate in Philly.
# 143:
5:01 am PDT, Apr 13,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
This tours are not welcomed in residential areas. They are loud and the "quacking" is very annoying.
# 142:
12:24 pm PDT, Apr 9,Kate Browning-Lafferty, Pennsylvania
Being "quacked" at while you're walking down the street minding your own business is embarrassing and aggravating. Knock it off!
# 141:
11:48 am PDT, Apr 9,Ellen Browning-Lafferty, Pennsylvania
# 140:
3:48 pm PDT, Apr 8,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
# 139:
10:28 am PDT, Apr 8,Brendan Lafferty, Pennsylvania
As a resident of South Street, I couldn't agree more. Every time I wake up at 8am on a Saturday morning to obnoxious quacking, the Macarena, and a shameless plug for Bridget Foys, I die a little inside. They must be stopped. It's noise pollution, plain and simple. I have seen it make children cry. How is this a benefit to our city? Is this really how we should be presenting ourselves to tourists?
# 138:
3:30 pm PDT, Apr 6,Ed Zawora, Pennsylvania
Bad for peace and quiet in the city. The worst part of the duck tours are the quackers, couldn't they give them out as they leave the tour? Why do they need to quack during the entire trip? If you were on the tour (without kids) to learn about the city . . . how could you even hear/enjoy the tour?
# 137:
10:39 am PDT, Apr 5,William Regli, Pennsylvania
The Ducks need to be more respectful of the city they are supposedly displaying.
# 136:
6:11 pm PDT, Apr 4,Thomas McKernan, Pennsylvania
# 135:
5:55 pm PDT, Apr 4,J Nathan Bazzel, Pennsylvania
Portraying Thomas Jefferson throughout Philadelphia, I have come across the Duck Boats time and time again. Each time the driver would encourage everyone to "Give a quack out to..." and then he would say a name for who ever he thought I was. I have been called Christopher Columbus, William Penn, Ben Franklin, you name it. It doesn't stop there. For the rest of the day, whenever riders would see us, they would quack at us again. Obnoxious is not the correct word...HARRASSMENT is!
# 134:
1:12 pm PDT, Apr 4,Susan Harkness Regli, Pennsylvania
There is nothing "Philadelphia" about the Duck Tours. They are RUDE RUDE RUDE. They drive down streets too narrow for them and don't have good visibility -- I witnessed one clip a biker driving down 6th street and the driver didn't even realize something had happened. They blast obnoxious music. And I fail to see how encouraging visitors to our city to razz, heckle, and generally annoy the residents of this historical place has anything to do with the spirit of brotherly love. I would LOVE to see them removed from the city. Barring that, at least make them behave and promote respectful tourism.
# 133:
9:50 am PDT, Apr 4,Robert Peters, Pennsylvania
i work on south street the duck boat bothers our customers and the duck tour guides make negative remarks about local businesses. Why can I get a ticket for playing my car stero too loud, but boats can blast "bad" music all day long.
# 132:
12:01 pm PDT, Apr 3,Laura Kaiser, Pennsylvania
# 131:
12:28 pm PDT, Mar 29,Tim Noonan, Pennsylvania
These duck rides show no respect for the people that live in the areas they drive through making very loud noises. I work nights and every day in the spring and summer these things start comming around making noise at like 8:00 am. Sometimes they come one right behind the other. This must stop. They guy on the microphone is not only annoying but repetitive, I hear the same stupid comments all day long. Is this what I pay my taxes for ??????
# 130:
4:10 pm PDT, Mar 28,Joseph Alkus, Pennsylvania
Not only do they disrupt quiet neighborhoods but they are also a traffic hazard as their width extends beyond a lane of traffic.
# 129:
1:32 pm PDT, Mar 28,Kathleen Auerhahn, Pennsylvania
# 128:
3:07 pm PDT, Mar 25,Mike Ginsberg, Pennsylvania
There is nothing worse than enjoying some quiet time with your family on South Street or walking through the neighborhood only to have your quiet violated by the Ducks. The music is too loud. The guides are loud and obnoxious, and the quacking is ridiculous. I understand that these are tourists here to see our city, but what sense of history does one get by quacking like an idiot while rocking to the macarena? Did George Washington quack like an idiot? Is there any mention in David McCullough's book that John Adams liked to walk around the colony quacking like an idiot? How does this experience enhance one's visit to Philadelphia? If the folks in the Ducks want to quack, let them do it when they're on the river though even here they should be prohibited from doing it when passing people enjoying peace and quiet on Penn's Landing. Finally, I propose a city resolution that any Duck guide who encourages his fares to quack at pedestrians be immediately pulled off his vehicle and given an atomic wedgie.
# 127:
5:10 pm PDT, Mar 18,Christina Hansen, Pennsylvania
The Duck drivers should also refrain from encouraging the tourists to pet the carriage horses (without the permission of the horses' drivers!), and should generally drive more safely around the horses--and pedestrians. It's NOT the quacking...it's the big, noisy, polluting boat on wheels, driven by drivers dancing to the YMCA and quacking.
# 126:
12:40 pm PST, Mar 3,Name not displayed, Tennessee
My father died aboard the duck boat that sank on Lake Hamilton in May 1,1999. I was only 17.
# 125:
2:46 am PST, Feb 28,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
# 124:
4:05 pm PST, Feb 19,Name not displayed, Arkansas
These ducks are dangerous...just look duck boat that sank in Hot Springs on May 1,1999. Also the accident on Lake Union in Seattle two years later.
# 123:
5:33 pm PST, Feb 17,Richard McAlexander, Pennsylvania
# 122:
6:12 am PST, Feb 12,Laurel Celli, Pennsylvania
# 121:
6:33 am PST, Feb 8,Antoinette Saggiomo, Pennsylvania
There is nothing more annoying than driving home from work behind a relentlessly quacking, smelly wheel-boat.
# 120:
6:33 am PST, Feb 8,Antoinette Saggiomo, Pennsylvania
There is nothing more annoying than driving home from work behind a relentlessly quacking, smelly wheel-boat.
# 119:
11:31 am PST, Feb 7,Tara Stickel, Pennsylvania
It is very annoying to hear the quackers while I'm at lunch or after I leave work. I understand they may be fun, but save it for when they aren't on the city streets. Who wants to hear that during lunch or after a difficult day at work?
# 118:
11:12 am PST, Feb 7,STEPHANIE BEVINS, Pennsylvania
# 117:
9:33 am PST, Feb 7,Jefferson Eng, Pennsylvania
Generally, all noise pollution tends to bother me and the needless "quacking" sounds from these tour groups are just merely the tip of the iceberg if nothing is done in the immediate future. At least designate appropriate "quiet zones" where excessive noise is forbidden (such as a residential area). Please respect those around you by being a little more considerate.
# 116:
9:20 am PST, Feb 6,John Sasnett, Pennsylvania
My gym is on the duck's route and they drive by several times during my workout. I find it distracting and annoying. It's a damn good thing they don't drive by my home.
# 115:
9:06 am PST, Feb 6,L Lipkin, Pennsylvania
The duck boats sully the very historic quaint nature of old city. What's next? A Starbucks in Independence Hall?
# 114:
8:48 am PST, Feb 6,Daniel Chow, Pennsylvania
I don't have any objections to some tour businesses in the neighborhood. But, when the business encourages its clients to make loud noises while driving through the neighborhood's streets, then it's no longer a neighborly business but a daily summer harassment of residents and other local businesses.
For example, while at a flag day ceremony at the Betsy Ross house, a Veteran was making a personal heart-felt speech. A duck tour bus pulled up in front of the house, and everyone on board blew into their duck kazoo supplied by the Philadelphia Duck Tours. Everyone at the ceremony was deeply offended. I doubt that the tourists did this to disrupt the ceremony purpose. They didn't know, but they should've been informed by the tour guide. The blame falls on Philadelphia Duck Tours because they supplied the kazoos, and they were the one who encouraged the tourist to blast the kazoos.
Give the kazoos AFTER the tour is over, or better yet, stop giving them out.
sincerely,
daniel chow
# 113:
8:31 am PST, Feb 2,Jane Edelstein, Pennsylvania
# 112:
1:36 pm PST, Jan 30,Oliver Campbell, Pennsylvania
# 111:
12:11 pm PST, Jan 30,Ruth Carpenter, Pennsylvania
# 110:
11:18 am PST, Jan 29,Julia Harton, Pennsylvania
# 109:
10:06 am PST, Jan 29,Rachael Remley, Pennsylvania
# 108:
3:35 am PST, Jan 29,Mariel Muggins Butterworth, Georgia
I cant get to sleep so shut the duck up
# 107:
3:33 am PST, Jan 29,Mariel Muggins Butterworth, Georgia
Shut the Duck up its bloody noisy and I cant get to sleep
# 106:
2:13 pm PST, Jan 23,Kathryn Black, Pennsylvania
# 105:
8:39 am PST, Jan 23,Eric Holick, Pennsylvania
Pluck that Duck!
# 104:
7:57 am PST, Jan 23,Lauren Hahnemann, New York
the quacking needs to STOP!
# 103:
7:03 pm PST, Jan 22,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
These boats are obnoxious, tacky and frankly insulting to the unique character and vibe Philly otherwise boasts.
# 102:
10:15 am PST, Jan 22,Jesse Merlin, Pennsylvania
starting at around 9am every 15mins every day throughout the summer. I know the catch phrases and jokes of each one as they pass my house
# 101:
9:05 am PST, Jan 22,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
