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TORONTO STAR: Fed up with lakefront noise? Just deal with it
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| dEsidEL |
Rolling noise across the waves from party boats and harbourfront night spots often annoys waterfront-area residents on both the city side and the islands.
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Fed up with lakefront noise? Just deal with it
`Part of living' near water, say residents
City sent warning memo in the spring
Jul. 29, 2006. 04:10 AM
DONOVAN VINCENT
CITY HALL BUREAU
Exasperated by helicopters and planes flying overhead, horns from ferries, noise from the Gardiner and Lake Shore Blvd. or music from nightclubs or festivals?
Tough.
That's the reality of living on Toronto's waterfront, so get used to it.
Queen's Quay W. condo resident Harry Oldenhof looks at it that way. He has lived in his condo for nearly four years and has heard some of his neighbours complaining about noise but doesn't share their concerns.
"If you move here, that's what you have to expect,'' Oldenhof, 61, said as he walked his Dalmatian at Harbourfront one afternoon this week.
"There is noise here, but it's reasonable and it stops at a reasonable time,'' Oldenhof adds.
A number of residents have lodged complaints about the noise coming from Harbourfront Centre's concert stage, which offers everything from jazz to blues and classical music.
The issue of noise on the waterfront was back in the news this week with the Docks nightclub having its liquor licence revoked after years of noise complaints from Toronto Island residents. That decision is under appeal and the club remains in business serving liquor.
Cinematographer Carmen Dodaro, 53, who lives year-round on his sailboat, which he docks at Pier 4 marina, directly beside the Harbourfront stage, loves the entertainment and blames people with "nothing better to do'' for going to police to complain about noise from the music.
"I don't know what the problem is. It's the best entertainment in the city,'' he says.
Helicopters and planes flying in and around the island airport, traffic from the Gardiner Expressway, horns from ferries heading to and from the Islands, and other watercraft like powerboats and tour boats, are all sources of noise, says sports announcer Dana McKiel, who lives in an apartment near the waterfront.
But he too accepts it all.
"It's part of living at the waterfront,'' says McKiel, who is mulling over the idea of buying a condo on Queen's Quay.
The biggest sources of noise complaints in the area have been the Docks, the Guvernment Night Club, and tour boats or party boats in the inner harbour, says Stephen Miller, a supervisor with the city's municipal licensing and standards office, who deals with noise complaints along the waterfront.
The tour and party boat operators, which have generated ongoing complaints for a number of years from islanders and condo dwellers, were issued warnings from Miller's department in the spring.
The notification outlined the city's noise by-law — no loud music is permitted between 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday to Saturday, or 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Sundays and statutory holidays, and even when it is permitted it can never be of a volume or nature that disturbs inhabitants.
As for the other noise hot spots on the waterfront, Miller offered these explanations:
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Helicopters and planes flying in and around the island airport: That's not city jurisdiction, it's federal.
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Traffic along the Gardiner: That's a fact of life that can't be controlled. It's impractical to put up noise barriers similar to those on the 401, largely because the Gardiner is a raised roadway. Noise from the Gardiner is actually considered part of background noise level for the area.
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Ferry or boat horns: that's regulated as a safety standard, the same as sounding a train whistle at a railway crossing, or siren for an emergency vehicle. Horns have to be sounded when craft are departing or docking.
When it comes to investigating noise complaints, there are three main categories under the city's bylaws. The general noise prohibition relates to noise "likely to disturb an inhabitant.''
Specific noise prohibitions relate to sources like the racing of vehicles, squealing tires, or cars without mufflers.
The city uses noise meters only to measure sound from air conditioners.
For noise in general — say loud music during permitted times — a quantitative measurement is not necessarily going to reflect the annoyance factor to the people that are disturbed, Miller says.
"In other words, it (the bylaw) doesn't say that 60 decibels is acceptable and 75 is not. It's not a quantitative type of noise measured in those terms, because you could be right next to it and it could be impacting on your everyday activities by virtue of the fact that it's constant ...'' Miller says.
"That's very subjective. It's inhabitants describing their lifestyle being interrupted,'' he says.
Fines for noise violations can be as high as $5,000 per violation.
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source:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...id=968332188492
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| Jer. |
| And then there's some who just *don't* understand urban living. |
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| rabbitjoker |
Notice they mentioned The Guvernment as the #2 source of noise complaints?
If The Docks is shut down - expect The Guvernment to be next on the islander's attack list. |
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| fairy godfather |
I am taking up a collection to run a "ONE WAY" bus service to the country...
Anyone want to contribute? |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
Notice they mentioned The Guvernment as the #2 source of noise complaints?
If The Docks is shut down - expect The Guvernment to be next on the islander's attack list. |
exactly...
whiners never stop whining..
and thats been my point all along. You let them win, they will move on to the next item on their list. Whether its noise, smoking, dogs, or whatever. |
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| geroin |
| those were probably the people that called the cops when lawler was at the skybar |
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| HypnotEyez |
| in the legal forms when people are moving into the residence downtown/harbourfront it should clearly state that noise here is elevated - move in at own risk and do not in complain!!... seriously |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by HypnotEyez
in the legal forms when people are moving into the residence downtown/harbourfront it should clearly state that noise here is elevated - move in at own risk and do not in complain!!... seriously |
whats sad is that common sense like that would even need to be put in writing. |
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| FunkyGroove |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
Notice they mentioned The Guvernment as the #2 source of noise complaints?
If The Docks is shut down - expect The Guvernment to be next on the islander's attack list. |
:whip: :whip: :whip: |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyGroove
:whip: :whip: :whip: |
u are one of the biggest advocator of banning things on this board...
this is just that sort of mentality carried forward except that this time you are on the other end of it.
:cool: |
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| FunkyGroove |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
u are one of the biggest advocator of banning things on this board...
this is just that sort of mentality carried forward except that this time you are on the other end of it.
:cool: |
hey I never joined the argument against the noise:)
if you remember I always said you can't equate very different things together |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyGroove
hey I never joined the argument against the noise:)
if you remember I always said you can't equate very different things together |
aaah but you can...
you cant just pick and choose your causes. If you support the ban-it mentality for other things you shouldnt be surprised when somebody uses the same logic against something you enjoy, in this case noise. |
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