Watertown residents seek city action on vehicle exhaust noise
Hilltop Towers residents petitioned the Watertown City Council over vehicle exhaust noise they say disrupts sleep and affects health.
By Caleb Mercer, ClickNNY North Country Desk
Residents of Watertown’s Hilltop Towers asked the City Council to address vehicle exhaust noise they say is disturbing people living at the 113 W. Main St. apartment building and along Main Street at night.
James Davis spoke to the council on behalf of residents and submitted a petition. City Council minutes say the petition had about 12 signatures and included three requested actions. Davis said the problem had worsened over the previous year and raised safety and health concerns, including disrupted sleep. He also said many residents are older adults or have disabilities.
Councilman Osborne described the noise as a nuisance and asked whether complaints were being tracked. City Manager Eric Wagenaar said the issue was monitored and could be raised with the police chief. Council Member Garrabrant said he had seen similar concerns in his own neighborhood.
Police Chief Cristin Lyon said staffing limits the department’s ability to make exhaust-noise enforcement a top priority. She said officers generally enforce rules covering vehicles without adequate exhaust systems or with exhaust systems modified to create noise, and that the department would increase enforcement of noise and exhaust violations.
Watertown’s Chapter 205 noise code includes a prohibition on exhaust that creates unreasonable noise. The exhaust provisions were added through Local Law 1-2011.
Lyon was named Watertown’s police chief effective July 31, 2026, after joining the department as a patrol officer in 2005. She is the city’s first female police chief.
The next regular Watertown City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. Residents can contact the City of Watertown or the Watertown Police Department with questions about the issue or city noise rules.
Reported by ClickNNY and reviewed by an editor before publication.
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