Please, Turn Down The Volume
The times they are a-changin’ in downtown Coeur d’Alene. While it always has been a gathering place for people to meet, eat, shop and play, a new dimension has been added.
Powerful automobile sound systems, sometimes worth more than the car in which they’re installed, have created an intrusion into the downtown environment. The bass register of these “boom boxes” can be heard for blocks. These are cranked up in cars driven by young people who cruise down Sherman Avenue intending, presumably, to attract the attention of other young people - kind of a decibel-enhanced mating call for car-bound urbanites.
Don’t get me wrong. The downtown Coeur d’Alene business community welcomes everybody to the area that we consider the heart of Coeur d’Alene. A diverse selection of people with diverse interests is both exciting and healthy. With a reasonable effort to be considerate of others, downtown can continue to be enjoyed by everyone.
The downtown needs to be shared by everyone who uses it. We welcome young people of all ages. What we are asking is that young adults, like their older counterparts, observe basic social rules. When the sound of the thump-thump-thumping mega-bass is so loud that it sets off car alarms, it rudely interrupts and disturbs the social interaction of other people. This, in turn, disrupts one of the important qualities of downtown; that it’s a friendly place for pedestrians to stroll and mingle.
When a small minority ignores the fact that others are around, common courtesy no longer is able to find itself above the din. Complaints about noise have even been registered by residents in and around the downtown. It’s quickly becoming an issue that affects the entire community.
The City Council has responded by updating the city ordinance that governs bothersome noise. The police are equipped with new decibel meters that measure sound levels and already are ticketing offenders.
These are harsh tactics. No one feels good about having to resort to such action. But it seems to be effective in reducing the overbearing music and thus bad feelings of those who are negatively affected by it.
For those who need to feel as well as hear their music, they can do a few simple things to make everyone’s experience more enjoyable.
Turn it down in relationship to auto speed. The slower the speed, the lower the volume. At a stop sign or red light, the volume should be low enough to hear approaching emergency vehicles or even the plaintive calls of other hearing-impaired mating candidates.
Music with profanity should be enjoyed exclusively with headphones clamped securely over the ears and the windows rolled up. Downtown still is a family operation.
Hearing should be checked. The reason one listens to loud music may be because one is going deaf.