This is genius. I am super the stupid ass council will outlaw it soon, but for now this is a great idea.

Automatic gain control technicalities aside, they're clearly intending to "disturb another" by emitting noxious sound into public space.

This doesn't work except to deter rats. I use the same frequencies to keep rats away.

Proof:https://youtu.be/aOZgYr8RrcU

People mostly use headphones anyway. They tried the same thing with symphony/opera music and that didn't work either.

It's used for Rats.

https://youtu.be/aOZgYr8RrcU

Yes... Clearly. The problem with Seattle is a failure to enforce the noise ordinances.
Said no one ever.

Besides,people will bring their own speakers and blast Rap or thrash metal on max volume or frequency altering music like 8 bit chiptune or synthwave. This is nothing to my ears or anyone elses and won't stop people trashing the place.

I catch the the 120 south home from work between 5 and 6pm. It's often blaring while I wait for the bus. It's a very intense sound and it has brought me nearly to tears with a migraine. I understand the purpose as it is a very sketchy bus stop, but I don't think it should run during peak commute hours. It's a bit intermittent now, but it used to be on 80-90% of the time after 5.

This is bullshit. shut it down,

@8 it shouldn't be on at any commute hours. What about the poor shmuck that has to wait a long time for an off-peak bus after getting of their second job? Do they deserve 30 minutes of migrane-inducing aural assault?

As a less piercing way of changing the clientele, the McDonalds on 3rd Ave used to play country music. Maybe the I G A could try that - or better yet, play Lana Del Rey, and depress the hell out of everyone!

0r, a good polka!

http://www.ipapolkas.com/youtube-polka-videos/
Ukranian! (awesome horns!)
That oughtta keep the rats at bay...

3rd and Pine. Where The Bon Marche (before Macy's) USED to be. sigh
I think we should install a Mosquito in the White Trash House. Maybe then Trumpty Dumpty, Dencey Pencey, ad nauseum would flee the country.
@11 pat L and @12 kristofarian: I like your thinking.
@12 kristofarian: A good polka, as per Lieutenant Steve Hauk in Good Morning, Vietnam?
His brand of humor did clear out the streets of Saigon pretty well.

@14 Mr BS: Take off your MAGA cap and stop pearl clutching. It does nothing for this comment thread.

"For more context, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compares 80 decibels to the sound of a freight train heard from 100 feet away."

So what? If the vagrants don't like it, then they can move away. That's the point of the device

When the government won't do its job, self help is to be expected.

A few months ago this thing was on during the day. I work near there, and frequently walk from my office to Pike Place. It's ridiculously loud and annoying. I always wondered what that noise was and now I know.

In that block of Third they need more than a mosquito to keep the lowlifes away.

I've got video evidence they have been blasting it at 6pm in the evening. It plays during business hours. Doesn't deter the usual people I see at midnight by those entrances. But it must be great at deterring tourists or potential customers for businesses around them!

Rich,
I don't want to listen to it. And the device probably shouldn't be played or played that loud during the rush hour commute. However, I have some empathy for the owner. I read a piece oh, within the past year or so that some store fronts are now playing classical music. Evidently, that type of music deters a genuine criminal element. Hey, whatever works. Some of those unfortunate store fronts/coves are filthy and do draw a criminal element that all people really find disgusting. And Third Ave. has a plethora of such establishments.

Rich has a bleeding heart. It's gonna ruin his life.

It’s 5:20 on Wednesday and it’s on now.