City Council Task Force to Address Noise Pollution

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Excerpts taken from: "City Council Task Force to Address Noise Pollution" January 26, 2011 By Joe Smydo

"Pittsburgh is a green city," Mr. Kraus said, citing a need to control noise as much as air and water pollution. The task force will review the city's existing noise ordinances, which Mr. Kraus and Mr. Dowd described as out-of-date, and devise a package of new bills addressing noise standards, education and enforcement.

Council members have already reviewed noise ordinances in other cities. Mr. Kraus said the current enforcement measure -- having police officers gauge decibel levels with hand-held meters -- was unwieldy and must be replaced. He said new standards must be easy to understand and stressed that education would be part of any new enforcement campaign. He said the city also must rethink traditional practices.

The task force will be chaired by Councilmen Bruce Kraus, Patrick Dowd, and R. Daniel Lavelle, along with Theresa Kail-Smith will be members, and Mrs. Harris said she'd keep close tabs on the group's work.

Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11026/1120635-53.stm

UPDATE: May 23rd, 2011
Council members Bruce Kraus and Patrick Dowd, co-chairs of the City Council Noise Task Force, today announced the creation of a Noise Line to collect citizen input about noise issues from all around the City of Pittsburgh. The Noise Task Force will use the input to help shape new municipal noise legislation. Citizens are urged to phone, write or report online any issues of noise pollution that they experience. The noise line and task force website are:

Website: http://pittsburghpa.gov/council/taskforces/noise/
Email: noisetaskforce@gmail.com
Phone and text messages: (412) 223-7620

This development stems from the Task Force's research into best practices of noise legislation around the country. The Task Force has also completed a comprehensive review of noise issues in the current City of Pittsburgh municipal code; researched relevant technical issues in acoustics; researched legal issues in writing a noise ordinance; and reviewed the legal and practical issues of enforcement, including the issues that have come up for the police in enforcing the current legislation.

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News & Politics

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• Bruce Kraus
• Darlene Harris
• Patrick Dowd
• R. Danielle Lavelle
• Joe Smydo
• Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh City Council
• Noise
• Pollution
• Contact