Cities are not noisy. Motor vehicle traffic is noisy. This is especially true of Mérida. Although the majority of vehicles are just a mild annoyance there are a minority of vehicles that are offensively and dangerously noisy. The main culprits appear to be rich ‘kids’ cosplaying in expensive luxury European sports cars. Like their heroes in catoonish Hollywood movies the drivers love to cause as much noise as possible to garner attention. Often they like to roar down the otherwise sedate Paseo de Montejo. Another culprit are people who can’t afford a six figure US dollar vehicle and opt for a motorbike to bring attention to themselves. There are lots of motorbikes in Mérida and the majority cause no problem but a determined minority seek to cause as much noise as possible and discomfort to the rest of the public.

One class of vehicles that usually are among the noisiest in any city are the buses. Mérida has made significant advances in this regard with electric and hybrid technology and now the majority of buses are usually no louder than an average car and often much less. It would be great if Mérida city council could follow up with their public transport improvements and enforce some degree of excessive noise deterrence on other vehicles. Don’t hold your breath.

Excessive noise has wide ranging effects going way beyond being an annoyance. Exposure to chronic loud noise has been documented to be associated with several health conditions such as stress, depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. Noise is also detrimental to many businesses as people are far less likely to stop and buy from businesses in a noisy area. For some unfathomable reason some businesses actually believe placing loud speakers outside their store will encourage business (lol). Finally, excessive noise does nothing to further the reputation of Mérida and may put off many tourists who would otherwise stay longer and spend more in the local economy.