BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BELLEVUE -- Visitors to this city smaller than a square mile cannot help noticing the red and gray signs that call for "no loud music."
That's exactly what Mayor Tom Wiethorn and the City Council had in mind when they posted the one-square-foot signs throughout town last spring. The reminders to keep the music down is necessary, they say, in a time when cruising teens enjoy hearing their favorite tunes boom, thud and reverberate through the streets.
"You can't live in a town less than one square mile and not have the opportunity to experience loud, loud music," Mayor Wiethorn said. The signs "bring an awareness of civility to the community."
"I've noticed an impact. Either the kids are getting older and leaving that age (of playing loud music) or they're really getting the suggestion."
The signs are along Bellevue's major thoroughfares, including Taylor and Fairfield avenues, to reinforce the city's loud noise ordinance. Joan Ludwig likes the signs. And as a librarian at St. Michael School, she can especially appreciate a little peace and quiet.
In September, music blaring from the streets made her house windows shake and prompted her to call Mayor Wiethorn. Soon after, a "no loud music" sign was posted outside her house at Lincoln Road and Van Voast Avenue.
She doesn't know how much of a difference the sign has made, but she likes knowing it's there. "Why aren't they everywhere?" she asked.
"There's no excuse
City council members were following the lead of Norwood, Ohio, when they bought the $30 signs. That Ohio community has had them since 1996.
"It's a pretty quiet town, and we're just trying to keep it that way," council member Kenneth Wendel said. "I've heard nothing for or against the signs. The important thing is they're posted.
"If (people) are cited, there's no excuse. There's no trying to get out of it. It's just like a stop sign. It's to make them stop and maybe think about the community they're in."
Bellevue has had a loud noise ordinance for about 15 years. Violators must pay up to $250 in fines.
Carrie Schneider, 16, noticed the city's new signs about two months ago.
She works at her parents' business, Schneider's Homemade Candies, on Fairfield Avenue.
The candy shop is several blocks away from a "no loud music" sign that greets drivers entering the city.
Miss Schneider hasn't noticed a big difference since the sign went up.
Every once in a while, there's still someone who blares a stereo, she said.
But Miss Schneider likes that the signs prompt people to pay respect to the city and to other's privacy.
