COEUR d’ALENE— Efforts to decrease vehicle noise in downtown Coeur d’Alene have yielded mixed results. 

In 2024, the Coeur d’Alene City Council amended city laws to increase the fine for excessive car or engine noise from $100 to $300. Police officials dedicated more officers to the downtown area and gave officers discretion in defining what excessive car or engine noise was.

While some residents thanked the city for its efforts, the roar of car engines is rising again. It's expected to reach a crescendo this summer as more vehicles cruise the streets.

“Several people have come before council and they complained about the noise and it’s kind of been an ongoing issue,” said Mayor Dan Gookin. 

A workshop has been scheduled for Monday, June 29, at 12:30 p.m. at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library. 

“We are going to sit there with our parks, police and streets and see what the options are and what we can do,” said Gookin. 

One of the noise complaints comes from Canadian tourist Ilka Fischer, who emailed Gookin to share their experience. 

She wrote: "Sherman Avenue was filled with outdoor cafés, families, tourists, and people enjoying the day — yet repeatedly interrupted by motorcycles and vehicles deliberately engineered to produce extreme, explosive noise. Not occasional traffic noise, but aggressive sound used almost as performance and domination of public space, wrote Fischer. 

Her biggest concern was that the beauty of the city was being undercut by hostility and aggression. 

"What disturbed me most was the contradiction itself: such physical beauty existing alongside an undercurrent of hostility, aggression, and cultural division that feels increasingly visible and normalized," wrote Fischer.

This biggest hurdle for the city to overcome is enforcement.

According to Interim Police Chief Dave Hagar there are many factors that make catching offenders difficult. 

Things like officers having to stop at a red light, identifying the source of noise from a distance and being there when the noise happens are all complicating elements in regard to enforcement.  

“While we do devote several extra people downtown during the summertime, we are not always at the right place at the right time,” Hagar said.

Intention, locality and knowledge of the ordinance also complicate matters.

Hagar said teamwork is the key to dealing with the matter.

“We really just need to work together and figure out what solution that works best for us,” said Hagar. 

Solutions previously mulled over included closing parts of Sherman Avenue, reducing the speed limit and finding new places for parking.