'Disruption to my quality of life': Calgary monitoring excessive vehicle noise ahead of extra enforcement
Calgary is set to start cracking down on excessive vehicle noise but it's first determining exactly where the problem spots are.
Monitoring devices were installed along 17 Avenue S.W. weeks ago to collect data on the times and locations of loud noises such as those caused by vehicles with modified mufflers.
"What we want to be able to do is get some preliminary data from different sources so that we can target where our complaints are," said Colin Adderley, a technology engineer with the City of Calgary.
"That way, we can start to do something about it."
The plan to hire more officers and target loud vehicles can't come soon enough for some residents living near the busy entertainment avenue.
"It's like an excessively loud car that sounds like it's rippling. There are mufflers that either sound like fireworks or gunshots, constantly going like pow, pow, pow!" said Arthur Gallant, who lives in the Beltline.
The city hired eight peace officers and two police sergeants earlier this year for its Traffic Safety Team.
The group's focus will turn more toward vehicle noise next spring.
"The excessive noise is a disruption to my quality of life," Gallant said.
"I can't have my windows open in the summertime. ... I don't like having friends over."
The city's plan is to take an education-first approach when it comes to noisy vehicles.
Eventually, tickets and fines will be handed out.
The noise monitors will aid the team in knowing the trouble spots and times when the excessive noise is most frequent.
"The way the sensor collects the data, it does a calculation and only measures sound intensity or amplitude. And so we know how loud the sound this but we don't know what the sound is," Adderley said.
Council approved $1.6 million in funding for operating and capital costs for the Traffic Safety Team.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. woman sentenced for stealing $14K in funds raised for schoolkids
A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.
Trump expected to name Marco Rubio secretary of state, reports say
Donald Trump selected U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, sources said on Monday, putting Rubio on track to be the first Latino to serve as America's top diplomat.
Northern Ontario teen recovering in hospital after being attacked; ex-boyfriend charged with attempted murder
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.
23andMe cuts 40 per cent of its workforce, discontinues all therapy programs
Genetic testing firm 23andMe said on Monday it is reducing about 40 per cent, or 200 employees, from its workforce and discontinuing all its therapies.
'Your body, my choice': Attacks on women surge on social media following U.S. election
Sexist and abusive attacks on women, like 'your body, my choice' and 'get back to the kitchen,' have surged across social media since Trump’s reelection.
Dr. Ronald Weiss, Ottawa's 'Wayne Gretzky' of vasectomies, dies
Dr. Ronald Weiss, who performed nearly 60,000 vasectomies on Ottawa men, establishing him as the "Wayne Gretzky" of the procedure, has died.
Megan Fox is expecting a baby with Machine Gun Kelly
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting to grow their family. Fox announced her pregnancy in a social media post Monday.
Montreal man facing first-degree murder in woman's death; accused was on bail after allegedly threatening her
A 36-year-old Montreal man who was out on bail after allegedly uttering death threats against his partner is now accused of murdering her on the South Shore.
Kitchener, Ont. teen facing 29 charges after serious threats made against schools, businesses and people
A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.