Barrie Police have launched a program in a bid to lower the volume when it comes to noisy vehicles.
"In partnership with the City of Barrie, and as part of the Service’s ongoing strategy to address vehicles that are modified to be unnecessarily loud, volunteers from the Citizens On Patrol (COPs) team will be assisting by measuring noise levels from traffic in various areas around Barrie. These findings will be reported to the Barrie Police Service (BPS) Traffic Unit for further attention and enforcement as needed," police stated in a news release on Monday.
Using a noise monitoring device, the volunteers will monitor noise levels, and note vehicles that register a 'red' or high noise rating.
"The registered owners of these vehicles may receive a Traffic Complaint warning letter from the BPS traffic unit," the release stated. "While the complaint letter is not a ticket, and it is not accompanied by a fine, it will hopefully serve as a reminder to the driver about the level of noise created by their vehicle. Data collected will also be used to strategically deploy our traffic enforcement resources."
The COPs volunteers will be measuring noise in areas identified by Ward Councillors through the feedback they have received, as well as areas noted by the BPS Traffic Unit through online traffic complaints.
Police note that noisy vehicles are one of the most common traffic concerns received by the mayor, members of council and the BPS during the summer months.
“We have heard from our community that noisy cars are a significant concern and that modified vehicles making unnecessary noise cause disruptions to residents across Barrie,” said Chief Rich Johnston. “Through this initiative, our Citizens On Patrol volunteers will help gather data that will allow us to work with the Traffic Unit to address these disruptive vehicles, and focus on safety for all road users.”
Mayor Alex Nuttall said working in partnership with the BPS on this initiative is a major step in addressing this issue and improving community safety in Barrie.
If you have concerns over noisy vehicles, please fill out our online Traffic Complaint form online at: https://www.barriepolice.ca/ citizens-online-reporting/. This allows our Traffic Unit to determine the areas where noisy vehicles are travelling.
