Coeur d'Alene to weigh downtown traffic noise fixes at workshop

Loud engines and motorcycles that interrupt dinner service, curbside conversations and evening foot traffic in downtown Coeur d'Alene will be back before city leaders Monday, June 29, when officials gather to weigh a new round of traffic-noise fixes.

The city’s Noise Reduction Workshop is set for 12:30 p.m. in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library Community Room. Mayor Dan Gookin, police Capt. Dave Hagar, City Engineer Chris Bosley and Parks and Recreation Director Adam Rouse are expected to attend, and the workshop will include public comment on practical steps for the city core.

The list of options under discussion is broader than ticketing alone. City officials are considering noise-detecting cameras, speed cameras that can extend waits at red lights, decoy police vehicles, pedestrian-only zones and possible restrictions on motorcycle traffic. That menu shows the city is looking for ways to slow or reroute loud vehicles rather than relying only on patrol stops.

The pressure to act has built over the past two years. In 2024, the Coeur d'Alene City Council raised the first-offense fine for excessive car or engine noise from $100 to $300. Police also put more officers downtown and gave them discretion in deciding what qualifies as excessive engine noise, while electronic signs around downtown, Sherman Avenue and Northwest Boulevard warned drivers about the higher penalty.

Those changes produced some enforcement results. Coeur d'Alene police reported 87 traffic stops for noise violations since January 2024, with 19 citations and the rest warnings. Even so, officials said the complaint stream continued into late May, and the problem was expected to grow as summer drew in.

The enforcement challenge is part of what is pushing the city toward new tools. Officers can be stopped at a red light, may not be able to identify the source of a sound from a distance and may miss a loud vehicle if they are not in the right place at the right time. That makes it harder to catch modified exhausts and other noisy vehicles that pass through fast-moving downtown traffic.

The city ordinance already treats noise as more than a nuisance, saying sound can be a hazard to the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of residents. That framing gives Monday’s workshop a clear policy stake: how to cut down on noise without shutting down downtown access or the evening activity that fills Sherman Avenue each summer.

Any new crackdown will also have to leave room for Coeur d’Alene’s classic-car culture. Car d’Lane, the downtown car event, fell June 19-20, and antique and classic vehicles in city events were exempted from the newer noise rules. The workshop will show whether city leaders try to draw a sharper line between loud modified traffic and the cars that have long been part of downtown’s summer identity.