There was no peace and quiet at 4 p.m. at the corner of Church and Crown streets, but the culprit wasn’t Gotham, which is the occasional target of noise complaints, but the steady drone of CT Transit buses, box trucks, motorcycles and the thumping of the stereo bass in a passing car.
At times, the mayor was barely audible, which perhaps was the point.
The city has purchased two decibel meters and will buy at least eight more so police can enforce the noise ordinance, which the Board of Aldermen passed in August 2006 and the city adopted.
The city showed off the gadgets at a press conference, and police Officer Anthony Holloman demonstrated them by measuring the decibel levels of idling buses, a honking horn, a Samuel Adams delivery truck and Gwen Stefani’s "The Sweet Escape" that was blasting from a boom box on a folding table in front of the cameras.
People in violation of the noise ordinance can be given a ticket and fined $100.
According to a city news release, the noise limits in the ordinance range from 45 to 55 decibels, depending on the time of day or night.
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18328212&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7576&rfi=6