INNISFAIL – The Town of Innisfail is set to crack down on excessive vehicle noise through an amendment to its Community Standards Bylaw; a move that is expected to give many citizens greater peace of mind in the downtown and Centennial Park areas.
“It seems to have gotten worse during COVID; that people want to make a statement as they leave an intersection or whatever and it's not pleasant for any of us,” noted Coun. Gavin Bates during a regular council meeting on April 24.
Mayor Jean Barclay told council she was recently alarmed by vehicle noise during a morning walk through Centennial Park.
“I heard this vehicle and all of a sudden you see this vehicle flying down the hill below the cemetery, and loud, dangerous,” said Barclay. “We hear this over and over and over again.
“I agree with councillor Bates, like you're standing and talking to somebody in the noise. Sometimes it's just overbearing,” she added. “There was a ceremony at the cenotaph back in November and the noise from some of the vehicles was just unbearable and disrespectful at the same time.”
Gary Leith, the town’s manager of fire and protective services, agreed there is a problem but told the Albertan it's one created by “a small number of people” who cause a nuisance.
“These individuals do cause significant nuisance for people who are trying to enjoy this nicer weather out on the deck, and enjoy this beautiful part of the world we live in,” said Leith, adding his office does not receive many complaints. “It’s a small number of individuals that cause this nuisance, and so if we have the abilities to turn around and take care of that, we will.”
At the April 24 council meeting, Leith gave a detailed presentation on the efforts by other municipalities to deal with excessive vehicle noise.
Council was told the cities of Red Deer and Edmonton appear to be leading the province by either making amendments to its Community Standards Bylaw or through special projects.
However, Leith told council there was ‘no one answer” that will solve the local vehicle noise problem, and pointed to the noise and rowdyism issues that have plagued Centennial Park in recent years.
Last December town council approved an updated Parks Bylaw with tighter regulations, including new opening and closing times, to put a lid on excessive noise and hooliganism at Centennial Park.
More recently, the town has put in a concrete barrier in the parking lot to cut down on late night vehicle noise and partying.
As for a solution to the loud vehicle noise that still occurs in the Centennial Park area and in other parts of town, both Barclay and Bates wanted to know if an investment in “one or two” decibel meters would be of value to local peace officers to deal with “specific situations” when vehicle noise is excessive.
“I think we should consider buying a couple of meters just so that we can educate ourselves of how bad some of them (vehicles) are,” said Bates, who later added the town could do its own “little study” with a meter to determine impacts to health and if the measured vehicle noise is appropriate for the community.
Barclay agreed and noted the town has encountered past circumstances where “it seemed to be difficult to do anything” because no decibel readers were available.
Coun. Janice Wing said she wanted to know whether “more heft” could be put into the town’s Community Standards Bylaw, which does not specifically deal with vehicle noise.
Council then passed a motion for staff to come back at a later date with a plan to deal with loud vehicle noise; specifically, a draft amendment to the Community Standards Bylaw and the purchasing of decibel meters.
Leith told the Albertan he hopes to bring it back to council towards the end of May or early next month.
