”Often, city residents are expected to ‘put up’ with, or tolerate, noise nuisances simply because they choose to live in a city. This position is flawed in two ways: It assumes that 1) everyone who does in fact live in a city can afford to live elsewhere, but chooses not to, and 2) noise nuisances are unavoidable or incurable in an urban environment. I wholly disagree with the premise that nothing can be done towards mitigating noise nuisances and noise pollution.
As I knock on doors in my neighborhood, I frequently hear complaints from neighbors about excessive noise: whether it be a group of ATVs, a busy intersection, a nearby highway, a raucous nightclub, or a house party that has gone on late into the night. No Providence resident should be expected to tolerate these intrusions that greatly diminish our collective quality of life.
If elected, I commit myself to working with other councilors and the administration to help address this issue in ways that doesn’t increase criminalization of offending parties, but helps curb it through measures such as public awareness campaigns, exploring the feasibility of quality-of-life officers, and revisiting our ordinances to ensure they address noise offenses most common today.
While it is true that some noises — such as the sound of a basketball bouncing at a local basketball court or the chime of a church bell — are a normal part of city-living, others are not. As a resident of Ward 15, I also find it problematic that noise pollution tends to disproportionately affect lower income communities like mine more so than other wards in the city.
This is not OK and if elected, I commit to working with my colleagues and the administration towards an equitable noise nuisance policy that prioritizes quality of life.”
Respectfully submitted,
Doris De Los Santos
Ward 15 Candidate
June 2, 2021
“Noise is the New Smoking”