So just how loud is downtown Greensboro, and does it really matter? (2024)

GREENSBORO — Too noisy.

That’s Michael Aquilina’s first, and apparently final, impression of downtown Greensboro.

When Aquilina of St. Augustine, Fla., visited Greensboro in early June with his wife, Joan, to see their grandson graduate from Grimsley High School, he found downtown so loud that he sent a letter to the editor to the News & Record saying he would never do any business in the city again.

“It was so loud, you would have thought those motorcycles were driving up and down the hallway of the hotel,’’ said Aquilina, 68, a retired engineer for railroad companies, who stayed in the McGee Street Hampton Inn.

So just how loud is downtown Greensboro?

Annette Ayres, a spokeswoman for the Greensboro Police Department, said police have responded to 559 noise complaints in the city so far this year and have only issued two noise citations. A breakdown of downtown complaints was not immediately available.

“Greensboro has a vibrant downtown and nightlife,” Ayres said, “and visitors staying in the heart of the city may experience some temporary noise when some establishments close, particularly on a weekend night.”

On a recent evening in downtown Greensboro, Mary Jordan Johnson, a nurse who has lived in Greensboro for 12 years, said noise levels have “increased drastically.’’

“Specifically, the cars with off market mufflers that sound like gun shots,” she said.

But that hasn’t soured her on visiting downtown.

‘’Overall, Greensboro is a lovely place to reside,” she said, “and I am happy with the growth and development that is happening here in my city.’’

Longtime downtown businesswoman Kit Rodenbough said noise downtown is a good thing.

‘’The noisy nightlife is exhilarating!” said Rodenbough, former owner of Design Archives on South Elm Street. “It means that people are happy and enjoying being there.”

How is noise measured?

In Greensboro, a municipal sound ordinance permits a decibel level of 75 in commercial areas between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., while residential areas are limited to a noise limit of 65 decibels.

Measuring noise is tricky. It takes a specialized tool called a noise dosimeter that registers numerical values corresponding to decibel levels.

Normal breathing registers at 10 dB, while rainfall is 50. A lawnmower is 90, and a gunshot is can be 140-170 dB, depending on the ammunition.

The permitted noise level for Greensboro residential areas at nighttime — 65 dB — is somewhere between normal conversation and a vacuum cleaner, while the level for commercial areas including downtown — 75 decibels — is somewhere between a vacuum cleaner and, well, heavy city traffic.

Exchange with the mayor

In addition to the newspaper, Aquilina also reached out to Mayor Nancy Vaughan, amending his letter to criticize police for slow response to noise. “It is obvious that there is a total disregard for people, mainly visitors, in the inner city area,’’ Aquilina wrote.

Vaughan replied, thanking Aquilina for visiting Greensboro and apologizing that the city did not meet his expectations.

“Downtown is growing, and we are trying to manage the challenges that growth presents,” she wrote. “You are correct that the Hampton Inn is next to police headquarters, but the officers are deployed throughout the city. They return to HQ at shift change.”

Response from hotel management

In a phone interview, Aquilina said he left his fourth floor room during the noisy night and went down to the lobby to complain. This is the response he said he received: “Well, we’ll give you earplugs, but there’s really nothing we can do.”

Noise pollution is pretty standard in downtown Greensboro on weekends, said Tushar Zaver, vice president of hotel operations for CN Hotels, which owns the McGee Street Hampton Inn.

Zaver said he and family members were enjoying themselves at M’Coul’s Public House on West McGee Street the same weekend Aquilina visited and were out until around midnight.

“There were one or two motorcycles, and some slingshots — those three-wheeled, souped-up dune buggies — but nothing really loud,” Zaver said.

He said Aquilina’s chief complaint was “about the train, which we have no control over. So unless the city wants to move the whole train track, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Greensboro’s train station, the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot, is within walking distance of the hotel at 236 E. Washington Street.

“We did everything we could,” Zaver said. “It’s like me going to a hotel near Hartsfield Airport, being upset about the noise and saying, ‘I’ll never visit Atlanta again.’”

The social media reaction

After Aquilina’s letter appeared on the newspaper’s Facebook page, a flood of readers responded, most flexing their civic pride and squawking back in defense of their downtown. An unusually high number of people posted comments to Aquilina’s letter — 164 — but only 12 comments agreed that downtown is too loud.

“Coming to a city and complaining about noise, is like moving to the country and complaining about the smells,’’ wrote Scott Diener of Greensboro.

“What noise?? I moved from Texas. This is heaven,’’ commented Melissa Sandoval of Greensboro.

“Dude, I don’t even hear any cicadas yet,’’ posted John Turner McClelland.

“Compared to Atlanta, this is pastoral,’’ wrote Tom Gratzek.

“Is this a joke?’’ wrote Amy Crabtree Williams of Greensboro. “We just got back from NYC, the Bronx to be exact, and let me tell ya, we are mouse quiet compared to what I endured there.’’

Laurie O’Neill gets Aquilina’s beef, though. “I live near downtown and the motorcycles ARE noisy,’’ she wrote. And Joan Da Bear added that there are “30 guys who intentionally drive all over town with their big noise machines.’’

While Aquilina isn’t planning to return to Greensboro anytime soon, he was glad to hear about the comments he’s sparked.

“I appreciate that the public is engaged,’’ he said.