The MD of Foothills wants to hear what happens in Edmonton before trying to muzzle motorcycles in the area.

At an MD meeting in June, Coun. Terry Waddock asked for increased enforcement on people who remove sound limiting equipment from their motorcycles creating noisy conditions for residents in the valleys and ranges of the foothills.

“The people who live in those valleys all weekend long, all they hear is the crap from the noisy motorbikes,” he said. “You know what, people get so mad about it because it’s so inconsiderate.”

MD of Foothills councillor Terry Waddock

MD of Foothills Protection Services supervisor Geoff Carpenter told council at its July 17 meeting the City of Edmonton recently became the first municipality in Canada to pass a motorcycle noise bylaw. Edmonton passed a bylaw in June limiting the noise from motorcycles to a maximum of 92 decibels for idling motorcycles and 96 when they are engaged.
Carpenter recommended council see how things play out in Edmonton before passing a bylaw for the MD of Foothills.

“Let’s let a bigger community like Edmonton go through the court process before we do,” Carpenter said. “Someone will plead not guilty and let’s see how the judge rules.”

He said it is also possible an appeal could be made if the motorcycle driver is found guilty.

Carpenter said the MD doesn’t receive a lot of official complaints about motorcycle noise, but councillors and protection services staff do hear plenty of unofficial complaints.

“We don’t hear specific things like at such-a-such a time there was a motorcycle being driven at such-and-such a place,” Carpenter said. “We hear things when were out like, ‘Boy there sure were a lot of loud motorcycles out this weekend. Councillors definitely hear about it.”

During council’s July 17 meeting Coun. Ted Mills raised a concern about a potential bylaw restricting motorcycles’ decibels at 92 when the Rocky Mountain Raceway Park faced restrictions of 70 decibels.

Carpenter said the difference is the readings for a motorcycle would be taken from only a few feet away, while the readings for the raceway were taken up to a mile away from the facility.

Waddock said the majority of motorcycle drivers aren’t a problem and he doesn’t have a problem with day-trippers enjoying the foothills. The trouble, he added, are loud motorcycles and people who removed the noise muffling devices on their bikes.

He said the MD doesn’t need to create new laws, but should focus more on enforcing existing laws against removing noise-limiting fixtures on motorcycles.

“There’s existing laws on the books,” he said. “Maybe we can have our peace officers partner with the RCMP and do a blitz along the highways.”

Waddock said increased enforcement does cost money and he wants to discuss the matter with council to see how it can be accomplished.

Carpenter said merely increasing enforcement may not be enough and a new bylaw may be required.

Under existing laws, he said people cannot alter their vehicles to remove any manufacturer’s standard equipment, such as noise baffles in motorcycle mufflers.

“You have to make sure it’s regulated with what was set out with the original equipment on the vehicle,” said Carpenter.

He said these rules would not cover other situations such as loud car stereos.

Carpenter is reviewing standards for motorcycles and noise from vehicles as well as the bylaw in Edmonton.

Okotoks motorcycle builder Dennis Brown said he personally doesn’t like loud motorcycles, but he believes they need to be heard.

He said people should at least be able to hear when a motorcycle is approaching.

“A lot of times a bike that has some noise to it, you hear them before you see them,” said Brown. “There’s a safety element to it.”

He said there has to be a balance and the difficult question is setting out where to draw the line.

“You need to have a little bit of a happy medium there where you can be heard, but not ear piercing,” said Brown.

In the end, Brown said the issue comes down to the attitude of the rider.

He said there needs to be increased awareness and education about the issue among riders.

As well, Brown said there are a lot of trucks that are louder than motorcycles and he argued they should receive as much attention as loud motorbikes.

“They’re the ones you’re hearing most of the times in the evenings… they’re just as noisy as a bike with no baffles,” he said. “If they’re going to start picking on the bikers, they should start picking on those guys as well.”

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