NOISE CONCERNS
Portland International Raceway was one of the first race tracks in the nation to take measures to lower its noise levels. As part of its survival, this was a necessary step. As the surrounding population grew, noise concerns were increased among the local residents. Over the years, these concerns have been addressed by working with the community. While ultimately, this has required many compromises on the part of the racers, the long term result is a beautiful world class racing facility. Truly a place of civic pride for all Portlanders. And a place I'm proud to call my home track. To get to where we are today, the following is a brief history of the noise ordinances at PIR.
From the first Rose Cup race in 1961 through the late 60's there were basically no noise or curfew regulations for any of the racing activities. In 1970, the first steps in noise reduction were taken by placing a limit of 17 days of major event racing. No official curfew was enforced. In 1973, a voluntary curfew of 11:00 was put in place, but still no noise limits. Things would change in 1975 as the City Noise Resolution was adopted. This new mandate included: all Wednesday night drag race cars will have "muffling devices" by May 1, 1975 (this also included motorcross and go cart racing). Sports car club racing had until July 1, 1975 to adapt. An official curfew of 9:00 am to 10:00 pm Sunday through Thursday and 9:00 am to 11:00 pm on Friday and Saturday was implemented. Additionally, all public address loudspeakers were to be pointed away from Portland residential areas. And that any racing activity after 5:00 pm occur only between April 1 to October 31. In preparation for the 1975 standards, International Raceway Parks (the drag race promoters for PIR), conducted a muffler test on September 18, 1974 at PIR.
CLICK HERE for the press releases. In 1976 a Noise Review Board was established. 1981 saw the implementation of the new DEQ noise standard of 105 dB at 50 ft. from track side. By 1983, major drag races were reduced to five events per year. With a 10:30 curfew for all unmuffled races. A PIR Task Force was also formed. In 1984, the curfew for all unmuffled vehicles was lowered to 9:30 pm. Additionally, a city noise resolution was adopted. As a result, in 1986, all major drag races were eliminated from the PIR schedule. By this time, 97% of the vehicles using PIR were muffled. Today, the Wednesday night bracket races have a 10:00 pm curfew and a maximum decibel reading of 103 at 50 feet. The late night street legal race program has a 1:00 am curfew with a maximum noise level of 90 dB at 50 feet. These readings are always monitored and are strictly enforced.The speakers for the PA system still face away from all Portland residential areas and are limited in volume. Which means sometimes (and at some places), hearing the announcer can be difficult. By tuning your FM dial to KPIR at 97.5, all broadcasts from the tower can be heard.
Copyright © 2002 Greg Rollin. All photos and copyrighted information used with permission. While I have gone to much effort to ensure the accuracy of the information posted here, the possibility for error exists. In my research, I sometimes found conflicting information even from credible sources. Should you see anything you believe to be in error, please e-mail ME