Jarring pounding of pile-drives, shrill honk of car horns, excited midnight neighbours, pounding music from amplifiers all night…
Day and night, finding a complete peace and quiet place in hustles and bustles in Hong kong is barely possible.
Government has been trying to mitigate noise pollution. Still, citizens suffer from over-exposed to noises.
Dusks falls, volume up.
On one side of Sai Yeung Choi Street South a man with a Fedora hat sings Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and blasts electric guitar through a crackly speaker.
Just a few metres away, a group of people singing merrily with microphones and several amplifiers, without noticing a few passersby who covered their ears and strode away.
Turn up the volume to the mac.
Listen to this while working.
How long can you stand?
1minute? Or even less?
People living and working there have to stand it for 2 whole night every week.
VICTIMS
Street performers proliferated.
At the same time, more noise complaints are filed.
Though the complaints strike,
police seldom deal with them seriously by issuing sermons.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
EFFECTIVE?
Still, average noise level of busking exceeds the government guidance.
According to Environmental Protection Department’s Noise Control Guidelines for Music, Singing and Instrument Performing Activities, sound level of performances should only be at most 10dB more than the street noise level.
When compared with usual street noise level at around 70dB, the 90dB average busking noise level is 20dB higher.
Hearing impairment
Busking sound level is even “intolerable” for human, as it is above the standard suggested by Transport Department (70dB). Long or repeated exposure to busking sound level (90dB) can cause gradual hearing impairment, according to Department of Health.
Andy Yu Tak-po, one of the District Councillors in Yau Tsim Mong District Council, said he receives plenty reports from residents and shops in this zone.
He said the noise problem cannot be solved, if the government does not put busking regulation into policy agenda.
ALTERNATIVE WAYS?
As shortening opening hours of pedestrian zone does not help mediating noise disturbance, let’s have a peek at busking regulations in other countries.
In Hong Kong, none of the government department have right to manage busking activities. For example, as buskers are not hawkers, their performances are not under control of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Same as Hong Kong, other countries does not have laws nor designated sound levels for busking.
Therefore, even though police can interfere, they can only judge on a subjective nuisance basis. It is because Noise Control Ordinance does not specify ways to assess the acceptability of the noise produced by street performances.
OTHER NOISES
Credits
Chelsea
Michelle Lam
Kylin Qin
Natale Ching
Trudy Chung