Sounds in the city.

I’m lucky to have a beautiful view of the High Level Bridge, but with the sights come the sounds. Like many across O-day’min, I hear the revving engines of cars and motorcycles racing through our streets late at night and throughout the day. Noise in urban areas has a significant impact on quality of life and it’s essential we create healthy soundscapes in our communities, particularly for those of us in O-day’min living in the busy core of the city. 

The City has a Community Standards Bylaw that regulates noise and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be enforcing these rules. In the past, the City has mostly relied on Edmonton Police Services to issue tickets, but Council doesn’t have direct authority over EPS so they can choose to prioritize other activities. By contrast, City Council can empower Peace Officers to issue tickets for violations and provide explicit direction on when and where the enforcement happens. All of us in O-day’min could easily suggest the peak times where consistent enforcement would make the biggest difference. As Councillor, I would ensure Peace Officers are deployed to noise hotspots on a consistent basis. 

There are also opportunities to automate enforcement. There is a strong correlation between noise and speed, and we have well-tested technology to address the latter. I would advocate for the installation of permanent photo radar equipment along 109 Street, the High Level Bridge, Groat Road, Rowland Road, 98 Avenue, and other noisy streets to reduce racing in these areas. Emerging technologies introduced in Europe also have the capacity to track and document where engine sound originates from, which should provide the standard of proof required if an enforcement issue ends up in court. Exploring the use of this technology is something I would strongly advocate for. 

Another essential part of enforcement is to introduce escalating fines for repeat offenders. Currently, noise violation tickets vary between $115 and $250. I’d work to amend the Traffic and Community Standards Bylaws to provide increasing fines for subsequent offences, providing greater incentive to drivers to quiet things down. 

A final important approach to reducing noise in our community is to change the way we design our streets. Well-designed streets that focus on people help to slow traffic down. Additional landscaping can also help to buffer some of the vehicle noise and introduce natural sounds from birds and wind in leaves that can create more pleasant acoustic landscapes that can help balance out the wall of vehicle noise.

I’m committed to taking these steps to improve the sounds of our city.