Council approves summer events after debate over cars, noise and parking

Council approved multiple special events on the consent calendar — with amendments and discussions on staging, start points and traffic management — but some councilors repeatedly raised resident complaints about noise and obstructive traffic from car‑related gatherings.

Councilor Carlin and others asked whether the proposed motor‑vehicle events would use Newport streets and whether organizers planned to stage parades or create moving processions through neighborhoods. Event organizer (speaker 16) said cars would be stationary at Macaulay Hall and that there would be registration to discourage repeat offenders; he estimated 125–150 cars for one event and emphasized there would be no staged driving through the city.

Chief Ryan Duffy (speaker 17) said police had cited a small number of vehicles at prior Cars and Coffee events for unsafe starts and noise violations, but the majority of vehicles complied with traffic rules and organizers had agreed to ban misbehaving license plates from future events. “The claim the complaints that came in were specifically for noise…once we observed officers out there with noise meters…they were all within the order,” the chief said. The council required coordination with police for traffic control and some permits included explicit police detail costs to be paid by the city or event organizer. A contested vote on a late‑hour car event recorded a 4–2 decision on the floor; several other event permits were approved with standard conditions and traffic‑management requirements.