Councillor wants crackdown on excessive vehicle noise
With Calgary peace officers set to gain new powers starting in 2023, one city councillor wants the city to start cracking down on the long-standing problem of noisy vehicles.
Coun. Courtney Walcott has a notice of motion calling on city administration to look at adjusting existing bylaws on noise to make it easier to enforce, and to take another look at fines and penalties.
He said enforcement was a problem in the past because cracking down on noisy vehicles required traffic stops.
“Our bylaw officers — while we could absolutely enforce the noise bylaw — they could not perform traffic stops,” said Walcott.
He said he wants the city ready as bylaw officers gain those powers next year. He said he doesn't believe noise stops are a good use of police time, but a targeted campaign by bylaw officers at strategic times throughout the year could help address the problem in hot spots such as 17th Avenue S.W.
Rebecca O'brien, executive director of the Inglewood Business Improvement Area, said she has heard from retail store owners who can't even keep their doors open due to the noise.
“If you've got your door open, and (it's) so loud outside that it's an unpleasant experience for customers, then you are negatively impacting your ability to sell a product,” she said.
O'brien said excessive vehicle noise also has a negative effect on people's outdoor experiences. While there has been talk about an automated solution similar to photo radar, Walcott believes a bootson-the-ground approach is needed.
“When you had something attached to a light post and it was listening for the noise on the street, it was very challenging to actually say that that car did it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “And that's the threshold you'd have in the court system.”
Walcott said as a teacher at Western Canada High School, he often had to pause class momentarily while he waited for a loud vehicle or motorcycle to pass. He said this sometimes gets brushed off as a seasonal or business specific issue, but he said the problem has a wider reach.
“Especially as we look to attract more people into these areas as we build more and densify, there has to be a conversation about their way of life and quality of life.”