The City of Valparaiso’s Board of Works and Safety has named the city’s downtown a Quiet Zone to enhance the experience of visiting downtown. “Our downtown is surely a special and welcoming place. We want to respect what has been created by reducing unreasonable noise,” said Mayor Jon Costas. “Loud noises affect the downtown experience and we’re looking to respect those who are shopping, dining and visiting our award-winning downtown,” said Costas.
The City of Valparaiso is looking specifically to reduce unreasonable noise created by defective or modified exhaust systems, revving engines, horns, loud radios, engine braking and other sources of elective noise. The downtown Quiet Zone is designated as Jefferson to Indiana and Campbell to Morgan, and the enforcement will extend from May 1 through October 31.
The Valparaiso Police Department is equipped with new decibel meters to measure noise and will be enforcing the Valparaiso’s existing citywide noise ordinance which was adopted in 2020 and closely matches state guidelines. The enhanced enforcement will be concentrated in the newly created Quiet Zone. “We will be adding patrols, both mobile and bike units. We plan to begin with an educational approach, alerting offenders to the guidelines, but have the ability to issue citations where necessary,” said Police Chief Andrew McIntyre. Signs indicating the Quiet Zone will be installed to remind visitors of the need to be respectful with noise.
To learn more about the city’s noise ordinance, visit https://tinyurl.com/ValpoNoise.