Noise from students at a street party near the Dalhousie Campus recently was mentioned in complaints from residents of the neighbourhood. Other noise issues have also been brought to the attention of the municipal government in the past five years.
Noise in the neighbourhood
Andrew Sampson of CBC News reports homecoming-related parties have become a regular occurrence in Halifax since at least 2017. Caitlin Lees wants to see the city of Halifax and Dalhousie University find a way to put an end to unsanctioned street parties.
There were hundreds of people milling about the residential area, with many carrying alcohol, some of whom were visibly intoxicated. Lees said the music nearby was so loud her house was shaking and that she witnessed some students urinating on her home. (Sampson, 2023)
In March of 2023, CBC Information Morning aired a piece by Erin MacInnis about a Halifax couple seeking a reprieve from noise generated by their neighbour, the Halifax Curling Club. The CBC Website describes the Program Segment.
As winter sports begin to wrap up for the season, a Halifax couple is looking forward to an annual reprieve from their noisy neighbour. Nancy Shea and her husband Richard live next door to the Halifax Curling Club, they're currently in the process of suing the club over constant noise and other emissions. The CBC's Erin MacInnis brings us the story.
Aired: March 17, 2023 (Information Morning - NS With Portia Clark | Live Radio, n.d.)
The blog post We Want Our Life Back looks at noise levels, neighbour reactions and the HRM Noise By-Law.
Kayla S. Rekowski has completed “Halifax Noise Study: Resident Perceptions into Noise Annoyance” as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Combined Honours in Environment, Sustainability, and Society and Environmental Science.
The literature review has confirmed that noise can have a myriad of negative impacts on both the physical health and well-being of individuals living in urban areas such as stress, loss of income, trouble sleeping, and hypertension (Bjork et al., 2006; Landon et al., 2016). Even average noise levels in the urban environment have been found to exceed acceptable limits of ≥70 dB(A), which can cause irreversible damage to hearing (Mayes, 2021; McAlexander et al., 2015). Free-living animals such as birds have also shown sleep disturbance to night-time urban noise reducing their overall quality of life (Grunst et al., 2021). Species diversity in urban songbirds is greatly decreased from anthropogenic noise in the built environment (Proppe et al., 2013), and neurodiverse persons suffer extreme anxiety from everyday interactions due to urban noise (Landon et al., 2016). (Rekowski, 2022)
Pam Berman of CBC News reported on the use of decibel reading instruments following noise complaints from constituents.
Coun. Kathryn Morse said she received complaints over the summer in her Halifax-Bedford Basin West district because of outdoor community events.
"The music was so loud it was almost intolerable for the people living nearby, yet it was very difficult to enforce and a dispute over how noisy it really was," said Morse.
Coun. Waye Mason cautioned that creating a measurement to use in the noise bylaw is not as easy as it sounds.
"You have to be trained on the decibel meter, it has to be a proper kind of technology and it has to be from a consistent distance," said Mason. "If any of that is in any way not OK, the case is going to get tossed out of court."
But Mason agreed to a review because it has been 10 years since the noise bylaw has been updated. (Berman, 2021)
As Halifax continues to grow in population and increased urban density the impact of noise on the health and enjoyment of residents will likely appear more frequently on the agenda of HRM Councillors. Achieving measurable reduction of noise levels by using mitigation technology or removal of noise sources from neighbourhoods will improve the quality of life for beleaguered residents and address a long standing issue in municipal government.
References
Berman, P. (2021, November 15). When is loud too loud? Council requests noise bylaw review in Halifax region. CBC. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/council-requests-noise-bylaw-review-in-halifax-region-1.6247020
Information Morning - NS with Portia Clark | Live Radio. (n.d.). CBC. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-27-information-morning-ns
Rekowski, K. S. (2022, April 22). Halifax Noise Study- Resident Perceptions into Noise Annoyance. DalSpace. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/81597/Halifax%20Noise%20Study-%20Resident%20Perceptions%20into%20Noise%20Annoyance.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Sampson, A. (2023, October 2). Neighbours call for public meeting in wake of rowdy street party near Dalhousie campus. CBC. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/neighbours-call-for-public-meeting-in-wake-of-rowdy-street-party-near-dalhousie-campus-1.6984547
