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Providence Noise Project News
"Noise is the New Smoking"
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Oct. 27: Show Your Support for New Limits on Leafblowers
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One of the most consistently reported sources of noise by participants in our Community Noise Survey is gas-powered leafblowers, particularly among residents of the East Side, South Providence, and (to a somewhat lesser degree) Federal Hill and the West End.
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The members of the Providence City Council who represent the East Side — John Goncalves, Helen Anthony, and recently-announced 2022 mayoral candidate Nirva LaFortune — have responded to complaints about leafblower noise by seeking to amend the current noise-control ordinance governing "machinery, equipment, fans, air-conditioners, and leafblowers" (Sec. 16-97).
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Their amendment removes leafblowers from the broader category of noise-making equipment and puts them in their own section of the city's municipal code, as follows:
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Sec. 16-100. Leaf Blowers
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to use, at any time, a leafblower within any residential zone that has an average sound level exceeding seventy (70) dBA measured at or within the real property boundary of a receiving land use or when the same is audible to a person of reasonably sensitive hearing at a distance of two hundred (200) feet from its source.
(b) Leafblowers shall not be operated within the city between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.
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The City Council's Committee on Ordinances has scheduled a public hearing on the amendment on Wednesday, October 27, at 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber on the third floor of City Hall at 25 Dorrance Street, to hear from members of the public about the effects of limiting noise levels from leafblowers and when they can be used.
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The Providence Noise Project supports the amendment, and urges Providence residents who want to reduce noise in the city to attend the meeting to show their support for it — even if leafblowers are not a big source of noise in your neighborhood. It's important to use every opportunity we have to communicate to members of the City Council that residents want the city government to do more to reduce excessive, unnecessary, and unhealthy noise that's been rampant in the city for too long.
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There are indications that opponents of the amendment will be attending the meeting to speak against it, and our in-person presence will help to counterbalance theirs. If you cannot attend the hearing in person, there may be an opportunity to participate via video (i.e., Zoom), and we will post that link if and when it becomes available.
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You can also communicate your support via e-mail at council@providenceri.gov or by contacting your City Council member directly. And please pass this e-mail on to your friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues and ask them to attend the hearing or otherwise communicate their support for the leafblower amendment.
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Among the reasons to limit gas-powered leafblower noise levels and times of use that supporters may want to mention at the public hearing (or in a personal message to City Council members) are:
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- Gas-powered leafblowers produce toxic gases, particulates, and levels of noise that are unhealthy for their operators and those nearby. Most landscaping workers don't wear proper masks or hearing protection, and can suffer permanent health effects from their jobs.
- The emissions from inefficient two-stroke leafblower motors is proportionately more damaging to the environment than car and truck exhausts. If we're serious about addressing climate change, small-engine emissions must be reduced.
- Noise levels from gas-powered leafblowers already violate Providence municipal code — and in some neighborhoods are among the biggest sources of noise — but are rarely cited for it. We can't reduce excessive noise in the city without addressing landscaping equipment.
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Those are a few of the most important reasons to regulate gas-powered leafblowers, but hardly the only justifications for doing so. For more information, visit the Noise Project's Resources page. And if you have questions or comments about the proposed leafblower amendments, the upcoming public hearing, or leafblowers in general, please feel free to contact us.
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If you're interested in getting involved in reducing noise and other negative effects of gas-powered leafblowers, please consider joining the Noise Project's recently-formed Leafblower Committee.
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We welcome your thoughts / ideas on noise issues or the Project itself via the Contact page on PNP's website
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If you'd like to volunteer your time or expertise to help address noise in Providence, please feel free to contact us
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