Noisy vehicles remain an 'earsore' 2 years after Fredericton updated bylaw to tackle issue

Warm, sunny weather can be a good reason to enjoy lunch or dinner on a downtown restaurant's patio.

But in Fredericton, patrons might have to eat their maple curry chicken penne while listening to the din of motorcycles, cars and trucks revving their engines.

"I would say that the issue is worse today than it's ever been," said Stephen Chase, a former Fredericton city councillor who served between 2008 and 2021.

Excessively loud vehicles is an issue that councillors, including Chase, have railed against for years, and in 2021 they tried to address it once and for all by beefing up the city's noise bylaw.

The bylaw was amended to quantify how loud was too loud for a motorcycle, with a maximum of 92 decibels while idling and 96 decibels at any engine speed above idle.

The bylaw was also updated to prohibit anyone from operating a vehicle that emits a sound that could disturb others.

Police were later equipped with decibel-reading machines to go out and enforce the bylaw. But more than two years since those changes were adopted, police have issued a grand total of five tickets, including four in 2021, and just one so far this year.

"It's disappointing," said Chase.

"You know, given the the major incidents of noise, I mean every day, at most anytime during the day, you know, this unnecessary noise is evident."

CBC News was not granted an interview with Fredericton Police Chief Martin Gaudet about why the number of tickets issued is so low and whether there are particular challenges around enforcing the bylaw.

In an email, police spokesperson Sonya Gilks said a report of loud vehicle noise is difficult to patrol, as the vehicle in question is often gone by the time officers arrive.

"We understand people's frustration with loud vehicle noise and while we do enforce it, it is as resources — and priority of calls for service — permit," Gilks said.

Gilks said police have had several traffic blitzes in the past several months and will be doing more to target excessive vehicle noise, among other traffic violations.

Fredericton's noise bylaw isn't the only law on the books in relation to loud vehicles for which police have issued tickets.