The Noise Project is run entirely by volunteers from all over Providence who contribute their time, ideas, and skills to improve the health and well-being of all city residents and visitors by addressing excessive noise. Please join us! Our current program areas include:
- Vehicle Noise — This covers mobile sources of sound, and focuses primarily on deliberate noise from private cars, trucks, and motorcycles / ATVs. Among the most prevalent sources are over-amplified sound systems and modified mufflers.
It also addresses emergency vehicles (police / fire / ambulance) and some commercial trucks, highway traffic, car alarms, illegal use of vehicle horns, and other mobile sources of noise — as well as various ways to address it, such as noise cameras and regulation of modified muffler sales and installation. - Residential Noise — This includes excessive sound levels from both private and public property (e.g., parks) including loudspeakers, fireworks, gas-fueled leafblowers and other lawncare equipment, construction / renovation outside of legal hours, and other primarily non-commercial sources.
- Commercial Noise — This initiative seeks to ensure that licensed entertainment venues (e.g., bars, clubs, and restaurants) adhere to municipal noise regulations, and that the Providence government consistently enforces noise limits on businesses as well as individuals. It also includes commercial vehicles such as garbage and cargo trucks, and landscaping companies.
- Additional areas of interest include public health issues (including sleep deprivation, cardiac disease / high blood-pressure, and hearing loss), the adverse effects of noise on child development, and incorporating noise exposure into health and environmental education.
To volunteer, please fill out and submit the form below