550 replies to this topic

[Icebergalley]

If you heard fog horns on Saturday Morning there was indeed fog out over the Strait. So it was not the fog horn from the titanic sign then. In fact on bright sunny days fog out over the Strait is a very common occurence though it tends to stick the Washington Coast.

Wasn't Sat. Am.. I usually hear it late at night and I've compared it with the sound I hear at the RBCM when I walk past..

Just as I turned on the computer a bit ago.. I heard the low rumble of that marketing thing..

Now, I'll have to remember to contact them about it..

[G-Man]

What kind of heli is that?

[G-Man]

Nevermind hh-65 Dauphin a version of the eurocopter.

Not nearly as cool as airwolf.

[Ms. B. Havin]

From today's T-C, "letters to the editor" section:

[url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/letters/story.html?id=49293930-b3b9-4de7-92a6-a10af1df3179:a5f40]Density is one thing, but city is too NOISY[/url:a5f40]

Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007

There is one area that concern me as development brings greater density to Victoria -- noise. I can escape the traffic and many other density annoyances by staying home. I can recycle, conserve water and live more healthily to counter other impacts.

But it is hard to shut out the noise. I hate to complain but I must admit to a growing hatred of motorcycles and emergency vehicle sirens.

Are those two-wheeled machines whose passing rattles your fillings really legal?

And are all those sirens really necessary? I live high up in an apartment and I watch the emergency vehicles as they navigate the city streets. Often I see two ambulances and a fire truck, sirens at full wail, attending the same event. I see two or three police cars rushing noisily to a crime scene emitting ear-piercing screams.

I won't complain about the crowding if I could just be reassured that my city will not dissolve into one constant roar of sound. Can anyone hear me?

Bryan Kingsfield,

Victoria.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

Honestly, I think this guy is on the money. Quality of life is obviously important, and there are few things that can rattle a person like noise -- excess noise. I know this will have the "tink happy tawts -- everting's loverly" types all over me for being a nay-sayer and anti-Victoria, but you know what? Victoria, in particular its traffic, is really quite astonishingly loud. I think in fact it's a symptom of its "we're a small town" mentality: there's this idea that since we're not a big(ger) city, we can make a racket because rackets are exceptional in small(er) towns. The problem is that they're not exceptional here (because we're not a small town), and it's about time we figured out how to tone down on the noise level. If you sit on Cook Street or any of the main arterial roads to have a coffee, you'll find conversation difficult because of competition from the noise that automobiles are making. There's a lot of traffic in this town. Our buses are loud, our traffic volume is pretty steady and heavy on many arterials, and our uniformed public servants are ever ready to switch on the sirens.

Anything we can do as a city to keep trucks/cars/buses and in particular siren noises a tad on the sotto voce would be a good thing.

And while I'm on a rant...:
Has anyone else noticed the online ratings for cafes across the US and elsewhere that now include a noise rating? I don't have a reference handy, but I thought it was interesting that "noise" is a rate-able item for assessing the quality of a coffee shop. Can you go to a cafe and have a conversation without yelling? Can you meet a forumer and whisper conspiratorially about development, when some asshat at the counter is whacking coffee grounds out of the espresso head as though he were jackhammering the next building himself? Or is clattering dishes in the full-view open-area kitchen clean-up area? Or is using a coffee grinder that could wake the dead to grind that next espresso load? Or has a sound system blaring out some godawful version of jazz, typically a big band, which is the last thing you want to compete with (screeching trumpets) when you're doing that conspiratorial whisper thing? Why are we supposed to enjoy all this goddamn noise when all we really want is a quiet respite, and maybe an opportunity to talk to a friend??

What happened to quiet spaces -- for talking?

[Holden West]

Maybe 20 years from now when all vehicles are electric and emergency vehicles control light signals our city will be filled with awkward silence.

I wonder what an electric Harley would look like.

[VicHockeyFan]

Maybe 20 years from now when all vehicles are electric and emergency vehicles control light signals our city will be filled with awkward silence.

I wonder what an electric Harley would look like.

Those electric (hybrid) taxis already scare the hell out of me when they creep up behind me.

[Holden West]

Yeah, they've snuck up on me too. They'll probably have to add an artificial engine noise just like how digital cameras have that fake shutter sound.

[VicHockeyFan]

Yeah, they've snuck up on me too. They'll probably have to add an artificial engine noise just like how digital cameras have that fake shutter sound.

Exactly.

[gumgum]

They should make those taxis sound like Jetson cars. That would be cool.

[Holden West]

http://www.audiospar... ... _iid.17445

heh heh

[Ms. B. Havin]

They should make those taxis sound like Jetson cars. That would be cool.

And then make a ringtone that sound like a monster truck engine (since the Jetson cars sound like a ringtone)...? 8)

[Holden West]

This is more about pollution than noise, but...

Councillor asks: How will I defrost my car?
Times Colonist
Published: Friday, June 22, 2007

You know you're in Victoria when a born-and-raised city councillor asks how to defrost a car's windshield now that the city is banning idling - perhaps forgetting about ice scrapers.

"Is there a recommended procedure to defrost windows on colder days?" Coun. Pam Madoff asked Thursday.

"How long is your hair dryer cord?" Mayor Alan Lowe offered.

Added former Saskatchewan resident Coun. Helen Hughes: "We used to make love in the car to heat things up."

Should that not be an option, city staff offered that idling rules could be relaxed during cold days.

Darn. Just when things were getting exciting.

© Times Colonist 2007



Here we go. Look at what the muses of science and engineering hath wrought for your driving pleasure:



Instructions: scrape, brush, drive.

Anyway, it's not a few minutes of a passenger car idling that's the problem. It's noisy private diesel buses idling for a half hour or more in order to keep the air conditioning running while the passengers are outside.

[aastra]

You know you're in Victoria when a born-and-raised city councillor asks how to defrost a car's windshield...

Every born-and-raised Victorian should know you use your driver's license or an ATM card (or equivalent).

[VicHockeyFan]

You know City Council has gone insane when they bring in bylaws like this. What's next? A fine for driving to the corner store if it is within walking distance? A fine for driving to the grocery store more than once a week? Why don't they make parking $50 per hour for any car that has an engine more than three cylinders?

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

[Galvanized]

Here we go. Look at what the muses of science and engineering hath wrought for your driving pleasure:



Instructions: scrape, brush, drive.

I've never seen anyone use those for defrosting the inside of their window.

I hope we don't have any paranoid drivers cruising around with fogged up windows causing accidents because they don't want a ticket.

[Ms. B. Havin]

What's next? A fine for driving to the corner store if it is within walking distance? A fine for driving to the grocery store more than once a week?

No, no, it's really not like that. It's a matter of getting people used to switching off their engines when idling. I've driven often in Switzerland -- what it translates to is this: you come to a RR crossing, the crossing guard thingie goes down, you stop, and you switch off your engine. Within the space of a minute or two the train comes whizzing by, and the lights blink that the crossing thingie is about to go up. You switch your engine back on, and move on.

Here, without all those trains (sob!), what this means is that you'll switch your engine off if you're stopping to talk on your phone. Or if you're stopped at a construction site. Or chatting to a pal. It's not a friggin' big deal -- it really isn't. You turn the key: on; you turn it again: off; turn again: on. Simple. Modern engines don't take it personally.

As for defrosting: OMG, what a stupid question, Councillor... I used to live "back East" too (Prairies & coast), and for defrosting you take a scraper or a credit card (as per aastra), you scrape, and unless you have actual ice & snow (very rare around here), you just turn the engine on toward the last bits, have the blowers on full tilt (sorry, Ms Hughes!!), wipe (no, not that part!), and go. I don't think anyone will come and spank you if you're blowing longer...

[VicHockeyFan]

What's next? A fine for driving to the corner store if it is within walking distance? A fine for driving to the grocery store more than once a week?

No, no, it's really not like that. It's a matter of getting people used to switching off their engines when idling. I've driven often in Switzerland -- what it translates to is this: you come to a RR crossing, the crossing guard thingie goes down, you stop, and you switch off your engine. Within the space of a minute or two the train comes whizzing by, and the lights blink that the crossing thingie is about to go up. You switch your engine back on, and move on.

Do we need a law though? I'm all in favour of punishing stupid people, but let's not make up extra legislation.

[gumgum]

I'm all for this idling law.
There are a lot of laws out there that appear to be stupid; but then, there are a lot of people doing stupid things out there.
Most laws are dumbed down for stupid people that don't have any common sense. This law may seem like a waste of time, but it's there for a good reason.
Let's spell it out for the many, many, many dumb people out there: sitting in your frickin' car for minutes on end with the engine running for no good reason is a waste to the environment, a waste to our health and a waste to their pocketbooks.

[VicHockeyFan]

I'm all for this idling law.
There are a lot of laws out there that appear to be stupid; but then, there are a lot of people doing stupid things out there.
Most laws are dumbed down for stupid people that don't have any common sense. This law may seem like a waste of time, but it's there for a good reason.
Let's spell it out for the many, many, many dumb people out there: sitting in your frickin' car for minutes on end with the engine running for no good reason is a waste to the environment, a waste to our health and a waste to their pocketbooks.

Idling is stupid, because you get nowhere, but driving 80kmh to tour the Island uses more fuel, so what is worse?

[gumgum]

Not sure I get your point.^