Vehicle noise enforcement starts at Alki Friday

SEATTLE — With the warm weather, the drive along Seattle's Alki beach is sure to be packed this weekend, but those with a ride that is too loud could wind up with a hefty ticket.

When it's summer, people love to cruise up and down Alki Avenue.  While the area may be fun to visit, loud cars, trucks and motorcycles can be a nuisance.

So starting Friday, Seattle police will once again be doing noise enforcement patrols to keep volume in the neighborhood at a comfortable level for everyone.

If your vehicle can be heard from 75 feet away, you could receive an $135 ticket.

KIRO 7 has talked to people who live along Alki who said they're concerned the ordinance would target some drivers and not others, but police say the law is simple.

"The people that we're looking at trying to enforce the law against are people who are cruising Alki at all hours of the night, back and forth, on their motorcycle with straight pipes or their car that has modifications on it to just be loud. So, it’s not engine noise, but it's exhaust noise,” said Patrick Michaud with Seattle police.

Seattle has had the regulation on the books since 1977, but it required noise meters to enforce. The code has since been amended "to allow enforcement when vehicle exhaust noises (e.g. mufflers) 'can be clearly heard by a person of normal hearing at a distance of 75 feet or more from the vehicle itself.'"

For more information on Seattle municipal code 25.08.430, visit this link.

Cox Media Group