First, a shoutout. Today, April 24, 2024, is International Noise Awareness Day! Then, further below, a follow-up report by Elvira Lount on Vancouver City Council’s discussion on the Vancouver Noise By-law yesterday, plus follow-up. For ongoing updates in the future, see the CityHallWatch Vancouver Noise Task Force webpage.
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INTERNATIONAL NOISE AWARENESS DAY
Excerpt from the INAD website (https://noiseawareness.org/)
International Noise Awareness Day (INAD) was established by the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) to raise awareness about the harmful effects of noise on hearing, health and quality of life. Since its inception in 1996, INAD has grown to include participants in every state in the USA, as well as groups in countries on virtually every continent around the globe.
Participants celebrate by planning activities in their local communities that address their most urgent noise issues…Why do we care so much about unwanted noise? In the short term, noise causes stress (a well-established fact), and stress is hazardous to our health. In the long term, noise causes hearing loss—and hearing loss itself is detrimental to our health and well-being. A growing body of research links hearing loss with social isolation, depression, an increased risk of falls, and even the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias.
There’s so much to gain by working together to create a quieter more peaceful world. Our health depends on it!
Links and resources:
- Right to Quiet Society: quiet.org (Tip: They are based in Vancouver, have a multi-decade track record, and the website is full of useful resources.)
- International Noise Awareness Day (INAD): https://noiseawareness.org/ (see especially the sources on the “Noise Hurts” menu – impacts on hearing, health, and quality of life)
- INAD on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalNoiseAwarenessDay/
- “Applauding International Noise Awareness Day (INAD) 2024″ – a message by Arline L. Bronzaft, PhD, Professor Emerita, City University of New York. Excerpt – Despite stronger literature in 2024 linking noise to hearing loss and adverse mental and physical health effects, New Yorkers, like citizens worldwide, are still calling out for stronger legislation to combat noise, as well as asking for stronger reinforcement of existing noise bylaws. On a positive note, there are public officials internationally who are responding positively to requests for stronger anti-noise regulations… I am pleased that there has been a definite increase in the voices asking for a quieter environment. There has also been the growth of organizations dedicated to combating noise pollution… https://www.chchearing.org/post/inad-message-arline-bronzaft-2024
- Center for Hearing and Communication (New York and Ft Lauderdale): https://www.chchearing.org/ (see especially the resources page)
- CityHallWatch Vancouver Noise Task Force: https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/special-topics/noise-task-force/
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Follow-up report on Vancouver City Council’s discussion (April 23, 2024) on the Vancouver Noise By-law, by Elvira Lount
Thanks to everyone who wrote to Council giving feedback on the “Noise Control By-law Review – Phase One“.
A selection of the excellent feedback can be found here, including from Jan Mayes – (retired audiologist); Elvira Lount – Noise bylaw, and letter on West End Waterfront project; Dr. David Sadoway BES, MRM, PhD, Right to Quiet Society – Director At Large; Faculty-Instructor Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Department of Geography and the Environment / Policy Studies) with input from Arline Bronzaft, and Dr. Saul Pilar.
This first phase mostly consisted of cosmetic changes. There is much work to be done in the next phase which will include the hiring of an acoustical engineer to conduct a technical review of specific decibel limits and consulting with the engineer, partners and stakeholders in regards to commercial premises and special events. Staff at the meeting also indicated that they will be looking into the health implications of noise. So, there should be more opportunity for input into the process.
Unsurprisingly, Council voted in favour of the Report Motion earlier this afternoon, adding an amendment to do with vehicle noise, which was a major concern brought up by several Councillors.
- D. THAT council direct staff to engage with the Provincial government and Vancouver Coastal Health to advocate for new tools for strengthening and enforcing Provincial Motor Vehicle Noise and Emissions By-Laws to reduce excessivbe and unnecessary noise from vehicles and motorcycles.
If you’re interested in what was said at the meeting today you can view the discussion here from 11:30 to 12:45: https://csg001-
harmony.sliq.net/00317/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20240423/-1/20523
Surprisingly, staff and Council seemed unaware of noise cameras as a means to control vehicle noise, a solution already being used elsewhere, including in New York City. Here’s an article about this in the NYT from Dec 5, 2023 “Quiet, Please: New York’s ‘Noise Cameras’ Are Listening,” that I’m gifting so it’s not behind the paywall.
“… New York City, not exactly known for its peace and quiet, is expanding its use of technology to ticket the drivers of loud cars and motorcycles….
… The city installed its first noise camera early last year as part of a pilot program, Mr. Aggarwala said, and it was tested in several locations in Manhattan and Queens.
Since then, the city has purchased nine additional cameras, at a cost of roughly $35,000 each. Seven of them were in use as of late last month, with the rest set to be installed by the end of the year.
And on Wednesday, the City Council passed a bill that established a citywide noise camera program. The new measure will require that at least five cameras be installed in each borough by Sept. 30, 2025…”
Right to Quiet Director and an advisor to the CityHallWatch Vancouver Noise Task Force, New Yorker Arline Bronzaft, is quoted in this article:
“…Arline Bronzaft, an environmental psychologist and noise pollution expert who has studied noise in New York City for decades, said the deafening sounds that roar out of some vehicles can seriously harm mental and physical health.
Few people have done more to try to turn down the city’s volume than Ms. Bronzaft, 87. She has been advising mayors, subway administrators and other officials since the 1970s, when she completed a widely publicized study that determined that schoolchildren in classrooms next to train tracks in Inwood performed worse than those in quieter classrooms.
People who are regularly exposed to loud noises can experience higher levels of stress, have difficulty sleeping and are even at an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, Ms. Bronzaft said.
Sitting in her “noise room” — an office inside her Upper East Side apartment where she keeps decades’ worth of research — Ms. Bronzaft said noise cameras could be an effective way to reduce New Yorkers’ stress and help them sleep…”
Here’s a message from Arline Bronzaft for International Noise Awareness Day (INAD) on April 24! Spread the word!
https://www.chchearing.org/post/inad-message-arline-bronzaft-2024
I am hoping City Council will make use of Arline’s great expertise in the next phase, particularly in regards to the health impacts of noise, which staff said that they know nothing about, stating that they will be consulting Vancouver Coastal Health during the next phase.
Written by Elvira Lount
CityHallWatch: Tools to engage in Vancouver city decisions 