Canada, Edmonton looks to expand noisy-bike bylaw Batty wonders if public wants loud car

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http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+looks+expand+noisy+bike+bylaw/3856399/story.html
Edmonton looks to expand noisy-bike bylaw
Batty wonders if public wants loud cars and trucks included
By Gordon Kent, edmontonjournal.com November 20, 2010 Comments (33) StoryPhotos ( 1 )Video ( 1 )
EPS Traffic Section Sgt. Eric Theuser demonstrates the use of a sound level meter that will be used to determine motorcycle noise as per the new noise bylaw. Video by Bruce Edwards, edmontonjournal.com-
EDMONTON: The City of Edmonton will look next year at expanding the bylaw controlling noisy motorcycles to cover loud cars and trucks as well.
Rules introduced last June imposed the city’s first measurable limits on loud motorcycles, restricting them to a maximum of 92 decibels when idling and 96 decibels when operated above idle.
Police bought equipment to measure the sound and started an enforcement campaign July 1, with offenders facing a $250 ticket.
They want to recommend to city council next March whether the program should be expanded to cover all motor vehicles, once they’ve dealt with technical issues and assessed the impact of the current bylaw, according to a city report.
But Coun. Jane Batty said Friday people are already telling her the streets are quieter.
“They have noticed a definite decrease in noise from motorcycles in the summer months … even in late September I was hearing from people their nighttime sleeping was going much better,” she said.
“I like to think Edmontonians are adhering to the new regulations.”
However, most vehicle noise complaints she received involved motorcycles, so she’s not sure the bylaw needs to target cars and trucks.
Batty said she has questions about how this would be enforced and other issues.
“I would be interested in what the public, what Edmontonians, have to say about what they want,” she said.
“We have to be reasonable … I’m not ruling out expanding the noise bylaw, but you have to be realistic about what expectations are.”
Other legislation to limit road racket includes a ban on engine-retarder brakes in Edmonton and provincial regulations requiring vehicles to use mufflers and forbidding them to create “any loud and unnecessary noise,” the report says.
Although police, the motorcycle industry, motor transport administrators and Alberta Transportation developed specific noise standards and roadside testing methods, the province hasn’t passed these recommendations into law.