THE TAXIMAN IN HEROES’ SQUARE is glad that the clock on the West Wing of Parliament Buildings has been repaired – but the chime is “too low”.
Rihanna comes home in 12 days’ time and she has made it clear that she is going to be Loud.
Meanwhile, the folks near Kensington Oval will have to grin and hear the noise a bit longer, but even so, they can expect little ease: the CEO at Kensington Oval Management Inc., Henry Inniss, has told them: “We are doing our best to keep the noise down but really and truly a party is not a party without the music at a certain level.”
That “certain level” means loud.
Maureen Tudor, who lives next door to the Oval, will continue to escape to St Philip in order to get some sleep. Never mind that her workplace is at the Bridgetown Harbour, five minutes’ walk from home.
A few of the residents wouldn’t mind the noise if someone would offer them complimentary tickets!
A couple regularly put their infant’s crib into a closet so the baby can sleep because of a dog barking all night.
Over in Christ Church, the Minister of the Environment must know of the discomfort of the residents at Chancery Lane North who are bombarded with high volume from a certain residence.
Dr Denis Lowe must know, for at least two reasons: (1) noise pollution falls under his portfolio, and (2) the good gentleman lives in the same district and must hear the racket just like his neighbours.
Barbadians are presently either enjoying or enduring another season of noise. None of the noise-makers ever considers that the volume can be turned down. That is non-negotiable; out of the question. It must be loud!
The police blow hot and cold on this vexed situation. On the one hand, on any given night, the duty sergeant on the phone tells a tormented citizen that there’s little or nothing he can do; on the other hand, his colleagues can arrest Colvin Scantlebury after he ignores them twice and turns up his volume.
Mr Scantlebury believes he has a hearing problem, so he plays his music loud. The Chief Magistrate is lenient this time and advises him to reduce the volume because it’s disturbing his neighbours who do not have hearing problems.
There are at least four statutes on our law books that address noise pollution: the Road Traffic Act 1981, Cap 295; Road Traffic Regulations 1984; the Highways Act and the Public Order Act. They can be applied if the police so wish.
Noise is among the most pervasive pollutants today and in Barbados the problem is spreading. The population is exposed to louder and more frequent noise from nightclubs, boom boxes, cars, ZR vans and minibuses, motorcycles, construction equipment, karaoke fetes, house parties, manufacturing processes, and dogs barking and howling all night long.
The presence of higher levels of noise in our urban and rural environments has passed the point of being a nuisance – it is a health hazard – as this continuous rise in decibel levels adversely affects both the hearing and general well-being of the people of Barbados.
Loud music of any kind can cause temporary and permanent hearing loss. Constant “pounding” music for long periods is a common cause of deafness.
If a noise is so loud that you have to shout to make yourself heard, there is every chance that the mechanism of the inner ear can be injured.
The problem with noise is not only that it is unwanted, it induces hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, sleep loss, distraction and lost productivity, and a general reduction in the quality of life and the opportunities for tranquility.
Successive Governments of Barbados have played around with all environmental nuisances and paid only lip service to the problem. They talk and talk.
Excessive noise says: I don’t care about you!
• Carl Moore was the first Editor of THE NATION and is a social commentator. Email [email protected]
