Slog - Comments on The Big Ban http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban At around 3:45 am, suddenly from the street below, a sharp and determined car alarm struck the heart of my sleep and killed it. I'm now doomed to see the day, whose dawn has not yet arrived, through dead-red eyes. Car alarms must be banned from the city! Banned!... Copyright 2008 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:00:40 -0800 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:52:30 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Danny Amen. Seattle would be smart to outlaw car alarms (or the traditional noisemaker when car is disturbed alarm). I'm in NYC this week and as much as I love it, it would be great if we vered away from the NY tolerance for noise in the city.

My other two wishlist items:

1) diminish I-5 noise by continuing the cover over I-5 in the downtown area, and

2) using target sirens for emergency vehicles

For #1 we would cover I-5 similar to how the convention center currently covers a good chunk of I-5. This connects Cap Hill with downtown while reducing the hum of freeway noise in the city. We gain parks, parking and even development real estate for housing.

For @2, there are now speakers that can target sound so that most of it gets heard where the speaker points and the rest of us don't have to hear every siren all night long.

Back to sleep now :-)

]]> Danny http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168152 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168152 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:16:52 -0800 Comment by Leslie N. You know what should be banned from college dorms? Fire alarms that just anyone can pull at two-thirty in the morning when you've got an exam that day.

]]> Leslie N. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168159 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168159 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:13:52 -0800 Comment by Vince How about banning those fucking leaf blowers? Not only do they sound horrible but they stir all sorts of pollutants.

]]> Vince http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168170 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168170 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:08:59 -0800 Comment by Rain Monkey My pit bull sets off car alarms with a leaf blower. While smoking.

]]> Rain Monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168177 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168177 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:19:01 -0800 Comment by jeffg166 We've had cars fire bombed due to their alarms repeatedly going off for no reason.

]]> jeffg166 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168178 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168178 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:19:49 -0800 Comment by Bubb Rubb Charles, it's just for decoration. Whoooot whooot!!!

]]> Bubb Rubb http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168183 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168183 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:31:18 -0800 Comment by rococo I feel a strange camaraderie with all you other folks that were kept up by odd and disturbing happenings.

]]> rococo http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168189 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168189 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:40:13 -0800 Comment by Gabriel Herrin That's funny, I just watched a movie last night called "Noise" where Tim Robbins gets pissed at all the city noise and starts destroying cars in the middle of the night. I'll try not to give too much away, because you should see it, but eventually there's a court precedent set where loud noise can be considered assault and battery. Let's get it goin, I'll help.

]]> Gabriel Herrin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168194 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168194 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:58:34 -0800 Comment by I Got Answers A-ha! No let's make murder the only thing that's legal.

]]> I Got Answers http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168199 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168199 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:16:16 -0800 Comment by monkey Car alarms are worthless.

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168200 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168200 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:22:32 -0800 Comment by kid icarus @6 - Shouldn't you be making breakfast or somethin'?

]]> kid icarus http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168202 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168202 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:23:20 -0800 Comment by flamingbanjo I was sitting with my friends in the park in one of the worse neighborhoods in Winnipeg. A grizzled, incoherent old street dweller asked us for change. Then he walked across the street, peered in the window of a car, and smashed it. He removed a bag of some sort and started walking away. The car alarm was blaring, people were walking by. It was broad daylight.

I considered trying to tackle this man to recover some anonymous person's CD collection for all of about .025 seconds, then shrugged and watched him walk away. I called the police, who barely even pretended to be writing down what I said. The day continued with the car alarm blaring away and nobody even turning to look.

I'm not sure what car alarms are supposed to be doing, but it certainly isn't preventing crime. Banning them has a huge upside and no downside.

]]> flamingbanjo http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168211 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168211 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:33:22 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave Bubb Rubb is making me cry with laughter. I love my bay area peoples!

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168249 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168249 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:17:14 -0800 Comment by m@ "This Slog is protected by Viper."

]]> m@ http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168291 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168291 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:49:03 -0800 Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me Funny. I never hear them in my neighborhood...

]]> You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168303 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168303 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:53:49 -0800 Comment by Mahtli69 Nothing a dozen broken eggs can't resolve.

]]> Mahtli69 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168347 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168347 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:21:01 -0800 Comment by Betty X Charles- You should rent Noise starring Tim Robbins.
It's all about car alarms.

]]> Betty X http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168470 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168470 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:51:52 -0800 Comment by Dougsf There's a few on my street sensitive enough to be set of by passing motorcycles - it's annoying as shit. But alarms lower insurance premiums, so I'd expect to hear them for quite some time.

Here in SF, if a car alarm sounds for a certain period of time, the car can be towed. Of course the problem there is they're rarely malfunctioning in such a way.

There's alarms that will buzz your cell phone when activated - it'd be cool to see that combined with a quieter warning beep from the car to let thieves (like they give a shit) know they've triggered an alarm.

Oh, and fuck honking. People here LOOOOOVE riding the horn, or just pound on it to announce their arrival. What good does it do? Parts of NY will ticket for this, I'd be happy to see it here as well.

I think of lot of idiots have a misconception about living in the city - there's a density that provides sort of an "anything goes", anonymous, make as much noise as I want interpretation - yet in detached home suburbia, every dog bark has neighbors peeking out their blinds. It should be exactly the opposite. Close quarters means showing exceptional respect for your surroundings.

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168544 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_ban#c1168544 City Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:52:30 -0800