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City considers clampdown on loud vehicles

Souped-up trucks revving through Red Deer streets may soon face a roadblock.
truck-exhaust
Souped-up trucks revving through Red Deer streets may soon face a roadblock. On Monday

Souped-up trucks revving through Red Deer streets may soon face a roadblock.

On Monday, Red Deer city council will consider options to muffle the noise as part of its vehicle attenuation plans.

In October, council directed administration to continue exploring options for another six months and set recommendations.

The city considered a standard decibel reader used in Edmonton for motorcycles only.

Now the city is considering a “noise snare,” technology that is being piloted in Calgary and has a broader scope of detection for all vehicles.

Calgary piloted the first generation and the developer is working on a second generation that may be available this summer.

The price would come in at between $50,000 to $60,000 per unit, roughly half the cost of the first generation.

The city report says “this technology is still in the early stages of development and evidence of its effectiveness has not been proven.”

The snare can be mounted and operate unmanned on vehicles. When a vehicle passes, a reader indicates a level of noise above the acceptable limit. The equipment records a sound and creates a video and registers the time, date and location.

City administration is recommending a review on the capabilities and a noise snare pilot.

Staff also recommend to continue using municipal and provincial legislation related to vehicle attenuation as opposed to changing local bylaws.

The issue has been on and off council’s plate since 2009.

crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com