Fredericton councillors target 'blight' of noisy vehicles

A Fredericton council committee wants to cutout bothersome vehicle noise, even if it provokes biker backlash.

The public safety and environment committee spent noon hour on Tuesday examining its priorities for the next two years.

While it kept four of its priorities from the past two years, the committeeadded two new ones: a tougher noise bylaw and a closer look at recent provincial legislation that affects cities.

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Coun. John MacDermid, the newchair of the committee, saidhis constituents and neighbours are getting fed up with noisy cars and motorbikes driving past.

"It's a nuisance," he said. "It's a blight on the urban landscape. It diminishes the enjoyment of outdoor spaces.

"I would say, multiple times a day if you're walking downtown, if you're walking even in residential streets, a vehicle will travel by, and it's loud, it's distracting, and it's totally unnecessary."

The current bylaw says no one can make noise within city limits that would likely disturb residents. But itdoesn't set a maximum allowable noise level and leaves itto a policeofficer's discretion whether to hand out a ticket.

Tried before

Councillorsagreed with MacDermid a stronger noise bylaw should be a priority, but Coun. Eric Megarity reminded the committee what happened the last time council tried to do something about noisy vehicles.

A bylaw proposedin 2013 was defeated by one vote after drawing a lot of heat from the motorcycle community.

This time, Megaritysuggested, council should be ready to pass a bylaw or not bother.

Other priorities

The other new priority for the committee is for staff and council to look more closely at amendments to the Local Governance Act and the Community Planning Act that were passed recently by the legislature.

"We don't have a really good understanding of what those changes mean in terms of practical application in our communities," MacDermidsaid.

As an example, he pointed to unsightly premises, which MacDermid saidhave been difficult to deal with.

"Our understanding is we have more legislative teeth," he said. "But we don't actually know what that means, and how can we craft the tools through bylaws, so that we can actually improve the lives of residents of our community."

Other priorities include team-building at the Fredericton police and fire departments, traffic safety improvement, a renewable energy strategy, and a waste-diversion policy.

The committee includes councillorsMacDermid, Eric Price, Stephen Chase, Eric Megarity, Kevin Darrah and Bruce Grandy.