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Allentown councilmembers discuss $20,000 pilot for noise cameras to curb loud vehicles
Summary
Councilmembers and police leaders discussed a proposed pilot program to deploy noise cameras at problem intersections, with an estimated $20,000 initial cost and plans to test thresholds, leasing options and transparency safeguards.
Councilman Napoli urged the council to fund a pilot program using automated noise cameras to curb loud vehicle exhausts and music, saying the devices “actually take a picture of the license plate and mail a violation to the driver.”
The pilot would target high-complaint intersections such as Fifteenth and Hamilton and, from preliminary discussions, would cost about $20,000 to cover the equipment and setup for a defined block area, according to police leaders. Napoli said other cities — New York City, Philadelphia, Knoxville and Honolulu — have adopted the technology.
The proposal would pair a decibel threshold with automated imaging. Napoli described typical program settings he reviewed: “If a vehicle goes through an intersection over 80 decibels, there's a 15‑second video taken from the camera,” which staff could review to screen out emergency vehicles or other non‑violations. He added the cameras “do not pick up conversations. It doesn't pick up. It just picks up anything over 80 decibels.”
Assistant Chief Grama told council the technology is a “force multiplier” for an understaffed department and pointed to the department's experience with automated license‑plate readers provided by a vendor, saying that similar evidence helped detectives and officers determine violations. “I absolutely agree with Councilman Napoli on noise cameras. I think it's excellent technology,” Grama said.
Council members asked operational questions: how long jurisdictions typically test systems before issuing violations (Napoli said 60–90 days in some programs), whether cameras can be moved between hotspots and whether units would be leased or purchased. Staff said those questions would require further research, including infrastructure needs for power and data, and that leasing could be an option for a pilot.
Council members also asked about what the 80‑decibel threshold means in everyday terms; staff described it as comparable to a garbage disposal or heavy traffic and said the program could be tuned to focus on repeated, loud events rather than a single incidental instance.
No formal motion or vote was taken during the discussion; councilmembers said they intended to consider the item during the budget process and asked staff to include pilot costs and implementation options in the proposed budget.
The discussion concluded with leaders emphasizing transparency: the department would review video clips before issuing any citations to ensure compliance with the ordinance and to filter out non‑actionable events.
