Editor:
Chimes, bells, horns and whistles.
No doubt we are living in a nice part of the world, but it does not mean we should lack the ambition to make our community even more desirable to reside in.
As in any city, there are issues with different kinds of pollution. Most prominent in White Rock would be noise and light pollution.
Noise is probably what annoys and stresses people the most, and research shows that despite a certain amount of adaptability, repetitive noise does gnaw away at the nervous system.
In my opinion, people who live in a city ought to be more considerate in the use of noise than if they live outside urban areas. Trains blowing their horns is a significant source of noise. Avoiding it is a question of investment. Seal trains off, when they are passing through town, so engineers don’t have to worry about selfie-crazy, chicken-playing people who do not appreciate the dangers of an approaching train.
Trains in Europe blast through urban areas doing 130 -170 km/h, never blowing a horn.
The bell tower! Is it a big deal? Perhaps not, but then again, does anyone really need to impose their taste of times bygone by putting up a structure, which is bad medicine for the eye, and chime old British vaudeville tunes every hour to scores of other people?
Noisy motorbikes are another ear sore. I would think, there is a law somewhere, which addresses this problem. It is just not enforced. It would be a nice gesture by the City of White Rock to spearhead a campaign to mute such unnecessary noise. I am confident restaurant owners and customers on Marine Drive would agree. My theory is, that had the noisemakers been in the age group of 18 to 25 and not 50 to 75, the law would have kicked in a long time ago.
The decision to let stratas of a certain size in White Rock arrange their own collection of rubbish, has added to the noise level in the city. Big trucks on the streets most days of the week collecting waste at individual schedules.
I imagine it is about money, but an elegant solution would be to co-ordinate waste collection with the City of Surrey. They have put a lot of thought and money into their waste-disposal and recycle program, and despite communities’ prevailing conservatism against spending money on progress, you never hear any complaints.
There are other avoidable sources of noise. Some we have to accept, others not, but the city can help by letting its citizens know what is accepted, and what is too much.
If there is a will to reduce stressful city noise, there is a way.
Ole Nygaard, White Rock