Equipped with decibel meters and cameras, a City of Calgary crew will take aim at the headache of noisy vehicles along busy streets. The Traffic Safety Team will focus on excessive vehicle noise for the reminder of August and into September and will first spend afternoons and weekends along 17th Avenue S.W. “With all the complaints associated to noisy vehicles, motorcycle noise, business owners having concerns for patrons on patios, (17th Avenue) seemed like a pretty apparent spot that we should start up our noise enforcement,” said Insp. Brad Johnson with the team. Officers will be out looking for noisy exhausts and mufflers, excessive engine revving, squealing tires, loud stereos and more. Expect to see the team between the hours of 5 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. “Drivers are responsible for all noise generated by their vehicles, and violations may result in fines, including $270 for exceeding legal limits and $300 for failing to comply with a noise test,” Johnson added. According to the city, the team has issued 34 tickets related to vehicle noise so far in 2026. There have been more than 700 complaints called into 311 this year, too. The realities of late-night racing and revving engines are all too common for those living throughout the Beltline. Dan Pigat lives near 17th Avenue and says the noise, especially late at night and in the early morning hours, is very disruptive. “The ones that usually like to run up and down at 2 a.m. to let you know they exist because they’re trying to compensate. Those are the ones that wake everybody up and there should be easy to find. I don’t get it,” Pigat said. “You can hear them from Crowchild Trail to here, it’s not just 17th, but they like to go to the most densely populated neighborhood in the area just to get the most effect. It works,” he said. The pilot project is expected to expand to additional areas in the city where vehicle noise is an issue.
