Lawmakers should seize the opportunity this session to enable better enforcement of excessive-noise violations that continue to pose a real disturbance to residents of densely populated areas of Honolulu.
Nearing the Legislature’s halfway point, there are still multiple bills offering various ways of doing this. One approach, a measure calling for a pilot program to be developed using noise-detection traffic cameras, offers the most practical solution to try.
But it would be wise to keep two other bills moving, too, so a full debate on the issues can play out. Today is when all three are due to come up for floor votes in the state Senate; they should be allowed to cross over to the House and be further examined.
Senate Bill 588 seems to have grabbed the most attention as a proposal to fund a pilot program deploying a system of cameras to capture the source of excessive traffic noise in urban areas.
The state Department of Transportation would develop and implement the pilot, in conjunction with county authorities anywhere that has a population of 500,000 or more — so the City and County of Honolulu would be involved.
This makes sense, given that the Honolulu City Council has been in the thick of the noise-abatement issue for years, with Waikiki residents especially engaged. Last year two pieces of city legislation ran aground.
Bill 43, to ban amplified sounds in Waikiki under certain conditions, was vetoed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi. And Bill 23 sought to ban trash pickup before 6 a.m. across Honolulu as well as Waikiki.
However, there was pushback from Waikiki businesses that wanted trash pickup handled early, ahead of tourist activity. Bill 23 did not get a hearing — an unfortunate quashing of a legitimate issue. There should have been some compromise struck between business and residential interests in Waikiki on this matter.
As for the increasing problem of noise pollution: Nobody could blame residents for their ire over late-night races down the the main Waikiki streets. Ever since Hawaii Raceway Park on the West Side closed in 2006, car-racing enthusiasts have turned to public thoroughfares for their activity — a threat to both evening calm and public safety.
Residents frustrated by such disturbances justifiably won’t be silenced, which is why it’s resurfaced at the state Capitol.
The other noise measures up for vote:
>> SB 1418 would authorize the state Health Department to distribute decibel noise readers to state and county law enforcement officers and provide training on their use in enforcing noise-related complaints.
It would not be limited to a pilot program. And while the Health Department supported the measure, it drew a thumbs-down from Honolulu Police Department Maj. Randall Platt, who heads the Waikiki police district.
Platt said the statewide program would entail a time-consuming and technical process “that requires the downloading of captured sound from the decibel-level reader to a computer and then running software to strip ambient sound from the recording to obtain an ‘accurate reading.’”
Although the bill would allow for a wide expansion of noise enforcement — and many areas do want that — it would need an alternative workforce. Platt makes the valid point that police patrolling urban streets are already too busy.
>> SB 224 also would make a long-term change by allowing noise infractions to be handled under a more streamlined, decriminalized process, something HPD does support.
This overall issue plainly requires more discussion by both chambers to gauge the precision of proposed camera systems and examine all the pros and cons.
SB 588, for starters, could continue that conversation as authorities vet the technology and develop a plan suitable for a trial run in the coming year or two.
