Toronto asking province for higher fines, stricter rules to curb excessive vehicle noise
CBC
Toronto will take steps to curb excessive vehicle noise in the city by appealing to the province for higher fines and stricter rules on modifications to exhaust systems that make cars sound louder.
The city will also, as part of its noise bylaw review next year, introduce a sound level limit for vehicles when their engines are idle. Currently, the noise bylaw has a decibel limit for motorcycles only.
Councillors approved these measures this week, among others, after receiving hundreds of complaints about excessive vehicle noise from Toronto residents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents have said the city and police aren't doing enough about the problem, enforcement is lax and the city's past efforts to crack down on vehicle noise have largely failed.
"I would like to see robust enforcement everywhere," Coun. Paula Fletcher, who represents Toronto-Danforth, told council on Thursday. "I don't think we have it under control, or even a smidgen under control, to the way that citizens and residents expect that we do."
Council also decided at its marathon meeting to direct Toronto police to conduct more joint enforcement blitzes with city bylaw enforcement officers and to provide officers with sound level meters, all in an effort to crack down on unnecessary vehicle noise offences under the Highway Traffic Act.
Coun. Shelley Carroll, who represents Don Valley North, agreed the city needs to do more to lessen vehicle noise. She noted council has passed motions about excessive vehicle noise for years.
Carroll said she lives close to the Don Valley Parkway and wears orange earplugs every night because vehicle noise disrupts her sleep. Her constituents experience the same problem, she said. Complaints are building and the province needs to listen, she added.
"It's not going away until you're really putting the full force on it. I hope they're listening loud and clear," Carroll said. "We have to get a hold of this."
In a news release on Friday, Mayor John Tory also acknowledged the problem.
"Excessive vehicle noise, which in most cases is a result of vehicles that have been deliberately modified to create such a noise, is a major nuisance to residents in many neighbourhoods across Toronto," Tory said.
Specifically, the city will ask the Ontario government to:
Council also decided that the city will remind licensed car repair shops that muffler cut-outs, straight exhausts, gutted mufflers, Hollywood mufflers, by-passes and similar devices are prohibited under the Highway Traffic Act.
And when it reviews its noise bylaw in 2023, the city said it will:
As for leaf blower noise, the city said it will launch public information campaigns in the summer and fall to educate residents about the appropriate use of the machines and alternative ways to keep yards clean. It will also give residents tips on green technologies.
Moubarak Bokhit Ali's memories of his home country of Sudan are punctuated by flashes of violence.
The man behind the Moose Jaw health centre that has claimed “a 100 per cent success rate in stopping the progression and in restoring function of people with ALS” says a recent CBC story about his company is evidence that he is seen as “a direct threat to the ALS drug industry.”
The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?
Bill Van Vugt is living a life that's unlike most other people his age, and one which has seen him turn a longtime hobby into championship gold.
The provincial government is taking steps toward improving Alberta's lucrative sand and gravel industry.
As medical labs across Ontario remain understaffed, one medical association is calling on the province to expand labs’ capacity for student placements by funding positions to train them.
The year wrapping up means it's getting closer to tax season, and the federal Community Volunteer Income Tax Program will once again be offering free filing services for Islanders with modest incomes.
It's not so easy to remove a politician from office between elections in Canada.
Natasha Martin-Mitchell says creating art gives her a sense of calmness that acts as a medicine during stressful times.
Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves in his first game back from injury to power the Jets to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday that snapped Winnipeg's three-game losing skid.
Alberta’s auditor general Doug Wylie says his office's budget will be $1.5 million short next fiscal year.
British Columbia has filed a civil claim against e-cigarette giant Juul Labs, alleging the company developed highly addictive nicotine products and fuelled youth nicotine addiction with “deceptive marketing practices.”
There's been positive reaction in Ottawa to news that the nation's capital could be home to Canada’s first high-speed rail line by the end of the decade.