Noise easement
Published:Thursday | December 19, 2019 | 12:17 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Unless persons relax their desire to get a good night’s sleep, in tandem with the noise abatement law being temporarily relaxed, for the Christmas season, to allow for a 4 a.m. sound system cut-off time, the issue will continue to be a loud and contentious one for party promoters, for residents throughout Kingston and St Andrew, and for the Government of Jamaica.
Some practical solutions, as I see it, are as follows :
(1) Sound-proof party/entertainment venues that currently exist within close proximity of residential communities;
(2) Build more spaces, outside of residential communities, to hold parties, concerts, events, etc.;
(3) Give special tax concessions to party venues that are sound-proofed;
(4) Issue ticket/fines to promoters who breach the cut-off time as stipulated under the Noise Abatement Act, and suspend repeat offenders from holding events for two or three months.
(5) Event promoters should give residents that live in close proximity to event venues two weeks prior notice, at least, that an event will be held at X venue, that the music will be played loudly, and that the noise abatement law will be adhered to, along with a pre-apology for any inconvenience that residents may suffer.
Patrick Gallimore