Turn the volume down on vehicle noise, Toronto residents ask city, police
CBC
More than two years ago, the streets were quiet around Ingrid Buday's west-end Toronto condo. COVID-19 had just hit and the roads were empty.
"I felt like there was just this expanse where I could enjoy my balcony and I could sleep at night with the door open," Buday said.
It didn't last. At 3 o'clock one morning in April 2020, the roar of a motorcycle's engine went on for 10 minutes. She figured it must have been more than six kilometres away. And then it hit her, one person on one motorcycle has the potential to disturb thousands of people.
"Just because somebody is doing this behaviour, that doesn't mean that I should have to accommodate it by putting in ear plugs," she said.
The repeated disturbance from motorcycles prompted Buday to buy an $8,000 environmental noise meter and begin taking measurements. In August 2021, she joined the DVP Noise Action Group. She and other residents say noise from motorcycle racing and modified exhaust systems is common late at night. They say engines often rumble, growl and backfire on city streets.
The DVP Noise Action Group says the city and police aren't doing enough to stop it and ticket numbers appear to back that up. Under its noise bylaw from October 2019 to April 2022, the city issued one charge for unnecessary motor vehicle noise and nine charges for motorcycles exceeding the permitted decibel level. Under the Highway Traffic Act, police laid 983 noise-related charges in 2021 and 304 noise-related charges in 2022. In September 2019, a blitz designed to crack down on excessive vehicle noise in Toronto resulted in police mostly issuing tickets for speeding.
The group is calling on the city and police to step up automated enforcement. Members have called and emailed city councillors and reported incidents to police. Some have submitted photos of cars, licence plates and mufflers. But they say nothing is changing.
A city council committee is set to meet on Wednesday to consider a staff report on "outstanding noise directives." The city plans to review its 2019 noise bylaw next year. Police say they hope to conduct joint enforcement blitzes with bylaw officers this summer, but some residents don't think any of this will help.
On Wednesday, the city's economic and community development committee will consider whether council should:
Toronto Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson, chair of the city's economic and community development committee, said much work has been done on what he called a complicated and challenging problem.
"We are encouraging members of the community to reach out to 311 or to councillors' offices to inform them as to where these activities are taking place and generally when," he said.
"As a government, we have to work harder to be able to address the complaints that are coming through."
Thompson, who represents Scarborough Centre, said he believes the problem has gotten worse across the city.
"Now it's an epidemic, quite frankly," he said. "It's challenging for enforcement but even more so it's challenging for residents who are on the receiving end of the noise."
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