Edmonton became the first city in North America to muffle the noise of motorcycles in the city and depending on who you listen to, Calgary may or may not be following suit.
The Alberta capital’s council passed a bylaw this week cracking down on bikes exceeding noise standards of 92 decibels while idling or 96 while running the engine, and police there can now issue $250 tickets to bike owners.
While Mayor Dave Bronconnier told reporters he doesn’t believe it’s something Calgary would be pursuing, Ward 8 Ald. John Mar said he is working on a possible motion he may bring to council in two weeks to deal with noise from any type of vehicle, not just motorcycles.
“I wouldn’t single out any vehicles. It could be 18-wheelers using their retardant brakes, noisy sport cars without mufflers or motorcycles, but no factory vehicles will be affected,” he said.
Mar said he is constantly receiving complaints from constituents regarding vehicle clamour, and he may urge the city to follow in our northern counterpart’s footsteps and use new technology that could measure noise.
“It’s definitely in the top 3 for complaints to the city. I’ve even received four complaints today. I know that it’s a problem in the city.”
Bylaw boss Bill Bruce agreed, saying he literally receives hundreds of noise complaints annually and would wholeheartedly support a bylaw.
“It’s a problem. (It’s) not just motorcycles but vehicles in general that are exceeding sound levels. There’s not a lot we can do about it right now,” Bruce said.
But for his part, the mayor said there are “a lot of things that occur that annoy people.”
“We’ve got an awful lot of running around to do when dealing with the number of bylaw complaints,” Bronconnier said.
