Residents, business owners want Charlotte to consider adding noise cameras

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Residents and business owners say drivers with illegal mufflers are making the city of Charlotte sound like a war-zone. Some residents are now asking City Council to consider using noise camera technology to crack down on violators to make the city safer.

Uptown resident Jeremy Lamb recorded a video on the streets of Uptown so others could hear what he says is nuisance noise from drivers revving their engines with modified mufflers.

“It makes it difficult to sleep. It makes it uncomfortable to go out and sit on a patio with wine. It makes it even difficult just to sit at home and watch a movie, because you hear this every so often,” Lamb said.

Several other residents and business owners spoke at the Charlotte City Council meeting Monday night where Lamb played his video in the chamber during public comment period. Modified mufflers are illegal at the state and local level. Lamb was one of several residents to raise the concern to council. Uptown resident Sarah Corley said the drivers exceeding noise regulations also pose other safety risks.

“This is not just an annoyance. Chronic noise affects sleep, stress, and well-being. It’s a safety issue as well. Since uptown is densely populated with crosswalks, jaywalkers, dog walkers, workers and children,” Corley said. “The threshold for enforcement is 8db about the sound of blender many altered cars exceed 100db comparable to jackhammer on construction site.”

Hugh Templeman, General Manager at the Grand Bohemian Hotel on Trade Street says the problem impacts his business. He said many guests leave negative reviews citing the noise in Uptown as a reason they won’t return.

“We’re losing business as a city. I’m losing business as a hotel,” Templeman said. “How much of a problem? $140,000 I spent to put third glazing into my hotel, my investment into a noise problem that’s all of our problem.”

Residents are now asking city leaders to consider sound-activated street cameras to better enforce the noise rules. Some other cities across the United States have used the same technology.

“You’re not going to be able to hear any conversations or anything that would be identifying individual people, but it will hear car engines and illegally modified mufflers, and then it will automatically mail them a citation,” Lamb said.

Residents say now is the time to take action because the cameras would be linked to the red light camera system Charlotte leaders are already considering.

“It will not cost Charlotte anything, but it would make a huge difference to the livability of Charlotte,” Lamb said.

When Knoxville implemented the noise cameras they caught 1,300 violators within the first few months and used that data to understand the noisiest hours of the day. Two Charlotte Council members agreed to bring the topic up in city council safety committee.