Fort Worth takes steps to curb downtown’s roaring late-night soundtrack
September 29,2025
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Harrison Mantas here.
Carlos De La Torre appreciates a good sports car.
The 78-year-old retiree is the proud owner of two 1965 Chevy Corvettes, and can tell from the sound of the engine whether a vehicle has been properly maintained.
But the noises punctuating the downtown Fort Worth soundscape these days are causing consternation for De La Torre and his neighbors.
Cars can be heard speeding through downtown, interrupting diners at restaurants and residents who call the area home.
Fort Worth has rules that govern loud noises, but noise calls are often lower priority for the police meaning it can take hours for an officer to show up, by which point the offensive noise has already dissipated.
Fort Worth police began an initiative in June to cut down on excessive vehicle noise in downtown, putting up signs and increasing patrols.
Residents acknowledged there’s always going to be some noise in a dense urban area like downtown, but argued the noise from cars and motorcycles is above the normal din.
They want more to be done to protect their neighborhood, so they can live alongside the city’s original entertainment district.
There’s always been noise downtown Downtown Fort Worth
sits at the intersection of three freeways, a train yard, and serves as both a central business district and entertainment spot.
Roughly 11,600 residents call the neighborhood home, according to data from the neighborhood advocacy nonprofit Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
The area has always had noise, De La Torre admits.
Usually it’s a garbage truck, a police cruiser or an ambulance, but at least those noises serve a purpose, he said.
The soundscape has changed in the past few years, said Luis Galindo, a lawyer who’s lived in The Tower for the past eight years.
While there has been a slight uptick in foot traffic recently, downtown is still a lot quieter than it was before the COVID-19 Pandemic, Galindo said.
He was quick to note that he didn’t blame the pandemic for the changes downtown, but did say the area is different.
There were more restaurants, retailers, and, while there was still music in Sundance Square, it never seemed to interfere with daily life, Galindo said.
Now it seems like people come downtown on the weekend to cruise in their cars and play loud music, he said.
He emphasized that he didn’t have an issue with people coming downtown — only the excessive noise.
Galindo said he has to turn up his music or television in order to hear it over noise from vehicles down below.
There’s also a safety issue, De La Torre said. Cars regularly speed down Houston Street past the convention center, he said, adding he worried about the safety of convention guests staying at the nearby hotels.
When is it the worst?
Data collected in 2024 by Downtown Fort Worth Inc. showed the loud noises were the worst on weekends.
The nonprofit set up a series of decibel readers throughout downtown to count how many times the sound level exceeded the thresholds covered by the city’s noise ordinance.
City rules say you have to keep noise levels below 80 decibels during the day and 70 decibels at night.
If you’re caught exceeding those levels, the city can give you a ticket with a maximum penalty of $500.
Downtown Fort Worth Inc.’s study found that Friday between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. had the most noise violations, when levels exceeded 80 decibels 94 times.
The second loudest time of the week was Saturday morning between midnight and 1 a.m. with 91 incidents.
The study set up decibel readers at four residential locations in the core of downtown.
Fort Worth police responded to 26 calls for “Loud Music/Party” in downtown in the first six months of the year, according to police data collected through an open records request.
The majority of those calls did not have a police report, and five calls reported the offensive noise was gone on arrival or not able to be located, according to the data.
The single address with the most calls was 100 Harding St., near the Huntley apartment complex on the northeastern edge of downtown, however, most of the calls were concentrated along Houston and Throckmorton Streets between West Weatherford Street and West Ninth Street.
What are the police doing?
In June, Fort Worth police started a campaign to increase patrols in downtown and begin educating people about the problem of loud noise.
The department also put up signs to remind drivers about noise enforcement.
In the three months since, there’s been a noticeable change, Galindo said.
“You can’t be everywhere at once, but there’s definitely fewer people coming downtown just to make noise,” he said.
He credited the advocacy of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. for working with the city to get the problem addressed.
“It’s good knowing someone’s going to take us seriously and get our problems addressed,” he said.