For three minutes, revving engines, rumbling motors and screeching tires filled the Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting Tuesday. It went on, a motorcycle’s loud roar finally fading as it raced into the distance. 

“I think we get it,” said Mayor Woody McEvers. 

Finally, Janice Dailey turned the recording off. 

“Every night. Every evening,” she said.  

Even on the 14th floor, the noise drives them from their balcony and they must close windows. It does little good. 

Dailey said life at One Lakeside in downtown Coeur d’Alene has reached a point where she no longer loves it there. This summer has been a nightmare of noise.  

“I’m miserable,” she said. 

Dailey and others at One Lakeside and next-door Coeur d’Alene North Condominiums pleaded with the City Council during public comment to encourage police to do something about it. They called for better enforcement of the city’s noise ordinance. 

She said police have been called repeatedly about the traffic noise on Lakeside and Sherman avenues, and Northwest Boulevard, but nothing is done. 

Dailey said drivers behind the noise are doing so willingly and maliciously, making it harassment, which can be classified as a misdemeanor. 

“We need to stop them, cite them,” Dailey said. “It’s terrible. Please, please take care of it.” 

Residents of Coeur d’Alene North said they suffer the same fate and asked the City Council to approve putting a permanent radar-activated speed limit/speed display electronic sign near their building on Northwest Boulevard. 

Resident John Deus said such signs are effective at reducing speed and noise.

“Some owners have installed triple-pane windows and sound-absorbing double-pane windows in the hope of dampening the vehicle noise,” he said. “These solutions were not effective.” 

Michael Williams said a vehicle crashed into the business sign outside the building a few weeks ago and caused $36,000 in damage. 

“This is not just about slowing cars. It’s about protecting our community," he said.

Eileen Koler, who also lives downtown, said the same vehicles circle blocks for hours, with drivers intentionally revving engines. She said if she and others are outside at a downtown restaurant, they have to stop their conversation because they can’t hear, so loud is the car noise. 

“That's just not right,” she said. 

Michael Dobler suggested the city invest in cameras that can record video and audio of downtown traffic, which would make it easier to ticket drivers. 

He said he understands police are busy and have more important things to do.

“Let the cameras and the technology do it,” Dobler said. 

Police Chief Lee White said police do empathize with the situation and are doing their best to address it. He said through July 31, police have made 230 vehicle noise-related contacts, most of those downtown. 

White said in the past 12 months they have had 1,691 calls for crashes, 277 of those injury and 25 vehicle/pedestrian crashes. 

He said they have limited resources, with downtown teams focused on issues with bars, and only two traffic officers. 

“We don’t have enough folks to just sit and focus solely on traffic,” he said. 

White said police have employed patrols at certain times downtown, such as evenings, but those efforts haven’t proven successful. 

“We do pay attention to the noise issue when calls for service permit,” he said. 

White said flashing speed-limit signs generally get honest people to slow down, but others ignore them or take it as a challenge to speed up. 

He said they have looked into cameras to record traffic, but they are expensive, around $25,000, and many people oppose their use and say it's a violation of privacy.

“In North Idaho, that is a bit of a hot potato,” White said. 

City Council members said they wanted the issue to be placed as a future agenda item so they could discuss it in depth. 

“The manpower issue is real,” said Councilor Christie Wood. “It truly is.” 

She suggested increasing overtime pay to fund more emphasis patrols. 

“I’m not sure where we’re going to get the money, but we need to have that conversation," Wood said. 

Councilor Kiki Miller suggested creating a task force to meet with all parties and come up with a solution. 

She said they heard the same concerns last year and will hear them next year. 

“This problem is not going to go away,” Miller said.