CORNER BROOK Margaret Hicks has lived in the Broadway area for 42 years, but she has never heard the like of the amount of noise coming from the downtown strip these days.
The resident of Concord Avenue, a sideroad to the area of Corner Brook that is home to several nightclubs, is so fed up that she has circulated a petition.
Her concerns, and those of the 25 neighbours who signed the petition, have made it to the agenda of Monday night’s public meeting of Corner Brook city council.
“You can’t get any sleep any more,” she said. “My son was home a little while ago with his small kids and he said we shouldn’t have to put up with that.”
Hicks said she was opposed to the city issuing a permit to one club, McHugh’s, to install a garage-style door that is usually open during warmer summer nights. She said the music emanating through the area has increased since then.
Another establishment, Nightsounds, is even closer to Concord Avenue and was recently given permission to build an outside deck for its patrons.
She thinks the problem may get worse when that deck gets built and filled with inebriated patrons.
Hicks said she has complained to the city and to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, but has not gotten any satisfaction from either authority.
Doug Payne lives on Roan Street, directly across from McHugh’s. He said the late-night racket from the area’s bars doesn’t really bother him, but he can see why others are frustrated. He said it’s a nightly problem, especially during the summer months from Wednesday to Sunday.
“I totally understand where they are coming from,” he said. “You can feel our house thumping and shaking with the music. After the bars close, Broadway is like a party on the street until 4:30 or 5 o’clock in the morning.
“There should be some kind of control on it.”
Payne, who has a seven-year-old son, said there are a lot of homes in the area with small children.
“I know my son can’t go to sleep with the window open, no matter how warm it is, because of the noise from the bars,” said Payne.
Payne never signed the petition himself, but said it was possible someone else in his house had done so when Hicks came by seeking support.
Hicks will get her chance to address city council in person when the petition is dealt with at Monday night’s meeting.
City councillors said they would not comment on the petition until after they heard from Hicks Monday night.
Paul Barnable, the City of Corner Brook’s director of community services, did say that the municipal police have spoken with all of the bar owners and managers on Broadway since the petition was received and advised them of the concerns raised by residents.
Each establishment was also provided with a copy of the noise regulations to ensure they were aware of requirements that state all windows and doors of licensed establishments must be closed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
“With respect to official complaints, which are those that are received through our customer service line, I can confirm that we have received two complaints from one individual within the last month,” said Barnable.
Wow! I didn't know the bar owners put the rover on mars, that's impressive.