Bourbon Street Bars to Get a Bit Less Noisy, Maybe

In a move that maybe doesn't bode well for the new Hard Rock Café location but probably will have little effect at all, the City Council last night passed an ordinance designed to limit the amount of noise emanating from the heart of the city's nightlife culture. Okay, only the touristy part of the city's nightlife culture. Sez NOLA Defender: Bars in the French Quarter and Central Business District have to "put speakers in their buildings, and point them away from doors and windows, and keep them 10 ft. back from doors." The is targeted mostly at the bars along Bourbon Street, of course.

There's been a lot of ridiculousness about noise pollution in the Quarter for a while now, with some people getting the terms "music" and "noise" a little muddled. But this ordinance doesn't seem to be as anti-music as other efforts, considering that it "hinges not on volume but how close a speaker sits to an open door or window." Honestly, if the thing is even enforced?always a question mark, of course?it will probably have a negligible effect on the noise created by businesses along Bourbon and elsewhere. They can still play music as loud as they want, they just can't point it out the door. A good compromise, perhaps?

· City Council to Bourbon St. Bars: Point Those Speakers Somewhere Else [NoDef]
· Law Aimed at Curbing Ear-Piercing 'Tin Noise' in French Quarter, CBD is Passed by City Council [TP]
· All Noise Pollution Coverage on Eater NOLA [-ENOLA-]