City solicitor rejects Downtown Saskatoon's pitch to ban buskers with amps

Saskatoon’s city solicitor has politely rejected a proposal from the downtown business improvement district to draft a bylaw banning the use of amps by street performers and preachers.

Saskatoon’s city solicitor has politely rejected a proposal from the downtown business improvement district to draft a bylaw banning the use of amps by street performers and preachers.

The reason? The city already has a noise bylaw for that.

Downtown Saskatoon Executive Director Brent Penner first turned to the city’s environment and utilities committee on April 2 with the proposal, which was modeled after one considered by councillors in Edmonton.

In a letter to the mayor and council just over one month before the meeting, Penner said the number of people using loud speakers for microphones or instruments had “significantly increased” in the last few years.

“This amplified sound takes the form of ‘music’ and ‘street preaching’ and is often concentrated on the corners of 21st Street and 1st Avenue,” he wrote.

“The sounds emanating from these speakers or amplifiers are often extremely loud and sometimes last for hours.”

Penner said his organization has received complaints from both ground level businesses and office tenants of adjacent buildings.