More than an annoyance, traffic noise is a matter of public health
By
Brett McKay
As city councillors consider a report on excess vehicle noise this week, it's worth noting that noise pollution is more than an annoyance; decades of research suggest it is a major public health problem.
A 2020 report from the European Environment Agency put noise second to only air pollution as a cause of premature death, largely due to noise annoyance, sleep disturbance, and ischemic heart disease.
"Some people maybe don't think of annoyance as a health hazard, but it certainly is, I think, and most of my colleagues agree," said Tor Oiamo, assistant professor in the department of geography and environmental Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University.
"It interferes with well-being and induces stress, whether that's chronic or acute," Oiamo explained. "Sleep disturbance underlies a lot of other health outcomes. There's a lot of evidence for sort of downstream health outcomes, like diabetes. Ischemic heart disease is the one really significant cardiovascular health outcome that the WHO said there's strong evidence for based on a very rigorous review of hundreds of studies that have been done so far."
Because most Canadian cities are built up around car infrastructure, some degree of traffic noise is inescapable. But Coun. Michael Janz is hoping to see stiffer fines for the worst culprits, those who have illegally altered their vehicles to make them louder.
"These vehicles are already illegal. You cannot sell a vehicle that has a violating exhaust. But these people put on aftermarket modifications to be deliberately noisy," Janz said. "It's absolutely a menace to the health and well-being of the whole community."
Complaints about traffic noise to EPS increased from 770 in 2020 to 1,028 in 2021, according to a report to be presented to the community and public services committee on Aug. 8. Common complaints were not being able to sleep and increased stress levels. Janz said his noise petition has been the most popular of any on his website.
Tickets for excessive traffic noise currently range from $162 to $250 under the provincial Traffic Safety Act and Edmonton's Community Standards Bylaw. Janz would like to see those fines automatically bumped up to $5,000, with penalties of $10,000 or confiscation of the vehicle for repeat offenders.
"I think we need to really hit them in the pocketbooks," Janz said. "These people drive very expensive vehicles, and they're spending thousands of dollars to make them even more noisy. And the effect it has is one jerk on the road can wake up 10,000 people in the neighbourhood."