With no easy answers when it comes to enforcing excessive vehicle noise, the Town of Okotoks will consider taking an educational approach when it examines priorities for next year’s budget.
Town council was given a report during its meeting on March 11 that had options to deal with noisy vehicles and examples of what other jurisdictions are doing about the issue. Loud cars and trucks are a growing concern, and people are frustrated with the problem and lack of solutions, according to the Town.
Noise in Okotoks is regulated under the community standards bylaw that states that any “noise that disturbs” could be a violation, with enforcement largely based on interpretation and judgment of the responding officer. With no provincial standard about what level of noise is illegal, part of the problem is subjectivity, according to the Town.
Bylaws in comparable municipalities either put responsibility on the complainant to provide evidence of an infraction or leave it up to an individual peace officer to determine if noise bylaws are being broken on a case-by-case basis, the report shows.
“(Alberta's Traffic Safety Act) does not give us, necessarily, enough teeth to deal with it,” Okotoks Municipal Enforcement manager Vik Kulkarni said.
During the discussion, Coun. Brent Robinson asked if vehicle modifications that cause noise could be banned by the Town and, if so, what pitfalls could arise from those regulations.
CAO Elaine Vincent said there would be a risk the Town would be outside its authority and would need a “very solid health and safety reason to try to regulate that.”
A dedicated enforcement unit could be formed, but it would take away from other priorities and enforcement challenges would remain, the report stated.
Other options to enforce noise complaints include the use of testing or monitoring equipment, but downsides include costs, resources and questions about accuracy.
Vincent added that provincial authorities have no appetite to regulate vehicle modifications from the manufacturing side.
“The feedback was that this is nowhere that anyone wants to regulate,” she said. “They feel that this is still an individual choice.”
Robinson said the noise is annoying but is not at a scale to warrant a major investment in resources.
“The education option is the one that I suspect is the least resource intensive,” he said.
Coun. Rachel Swendseid said the noise disrupts people’s quality of life, and she wants to see more done.
“The folks that are doing what they're doing, the stunting, that have the modifications, I don't believe that education will do anything,” Swendseid said.
Coun. Ken Heemeryck said given resource limitations and practicality, he’s happy with education as a starting point.
Following discussion, council favoured the educational approach by a vote of 5-2, and will consider adopting it as part of budget talks for next year. At that time, the Town will look at revising the community standards bylaw.
Mayor Tanya Thorn confirmed that no changes would take place immediately.
