A noise-camera pilot project that Saanich council turned down in March has been endorsed by municipal leaders across B.C., who are asking the province for help to curb excessively loud vehicles in the streets.
Delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities voted Friday to ask the provincial government to explore a noise-camera pilot project for municipalities looking to reduce noise pollution from vehicles, especially those with excessively loud aftermarket exhaust systems.
Saanich Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff said there are few options to enforce vehicular noise pollution.
While police can conduct roadside checks, it’s intermittent and the most disruptive instances of vehicular noise — the 2 a.m. loud car screaming past a bedroom window — usually aren’t policed, he said.
“You actually can’t gather the information to make an actual complaint to police or bylaw,” he said. “By the time you put on your robe and walk outside, the car is long gone.”
A 24/7 camera with a microphone could capture any noise emissions above permitted levels, and individuals found with vehicles exceeding legal noise limits would be mailed a violation ticket, he said.
Noise pollution has been linked to increased cardiovascular disease, while sleep interruptions can be bad for your health, he said. “We shouldn’t accept that cities should be excessively noisy.”
In March, Phelps Bondaroff’s idea for a noise-camera pilot project in Saanich was rejected by his fellow councillors, who cited concerns about administrative and legal challenges, he said.
A provincially led initiative could circumvent many of those concerns, as the province has the legal right to enforce the Motor Vehicle Act, he said.
“The province can deploy cameras so any of the legal [or] administrative challenges that would be associated with that would be obviated,” Phelps Bondaroff said.
A number of manufacturers offer to provide noise cameras for free for pilot projects in Canada, he said.
Port Moody Coun. Samantha Agtarap said she and fellow Coun. Diana Dilworth were inspired to put forward the successful UBCM resolution after hearing complaints from those who live near a popular route for motorcyclists on their way to Buntzen Lake through her municipality.
Agtarap said she was alerted to the possibility of noise cameras by Phelps Bondaroff.
“The technology has evolved, and I think this is a good point in time to actually test it out and see what happens,” she said.
Agtarap said she will be pushing for Port Moody to institute its own noise-camera program to better understand the “noisescape” of the Lower Mainland municipality.
“It would be purely for informational purposes — we wouldn’t be issuing tickets,” she said.
Under the Vehicle Motor Act, owners of vehicles with unnecessarily loud exhaust and engines can be fined a maximum of $109.
The limits are defined as any sounds over 83 decibels for light-duty vehicles and 91 decibels for motorcycles.
B.C. regulations prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle with a muffler that has been modified.
At the 2021 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, delegates considered — but did not endorse — a resolution that would have called for the prohibition of aftermarket exhaust systems exceeding legal noise limits.
In recent years, Paris and New York have both instituted noise or acoustic cameras that can detect a noise of 85 decibels or more and issue fines.
In New York City, the penalties for noise violations range from $800 to $2,625.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
