It’s not that Sunset Ridge resident Kevin Burns takes issue when music dials up a notch or two in the summer cruising season. What he does take issue with, however, is the incessant noise produced by illegally modified vehicles and ignorant drivers ripping up the streets at all hours of the day and night. “Is it not possible for these people to walk a mile in their neighbour’s shoes?” remarked Burns, who was left frustrated last week by a lack of response from town administration and representatives following an email he sent out to indicate that the problem has grown worse. It was determined last fall post-election, following Burns’ bringing the matter to the attention of former mayor and council, that the resurrection of a policing advisory committee (or something of the sort) was too exhaustive on resources at that time. But Burns remains concerned that the crack down on offending car, truck and motorcycle drivers has been a far cry from good enough. “I’m just trying to figure out where the community standard is ... disorder leads to more disorder.” According to Frank Borsos, manager of municipal enforcement for the town, bylaw officers do not receive an abundance of calls reporting offending vehicles and excessive noise, but that they “give the same attention to all complaints from the community.” Borsos advised there have been staffing level increases to accommodate the growing demands on municipal enforcement and that his team has a strong working relationship with the Cochrane RCMP. With respect to noise, there are no specific sound measurements included in the Traffic Safety Act, which is left up to the discretion of the investigation officer. This subjectivity leads to many cases being thrown out in the judicial system, according to Borsos, although municipalities across the province attempt to address it through bylaws. As a unit, municipal enforcement follows the Alberta Traffic Safety initiative (STEP) - allowing for inter-agency work to identify the most common offences to make roadways safer.
