When, exactly, did the sound of children laughing and playing become unpleasant to listen to?
At a recent hearing regarding Penticton BMX moving their track to a new location, one of the concerns raised by opponents was the noise that would be coming from the new track. BMX bikes aren’t motorized, so, aside from a few announcements over a loudspeaker, the loudest noise would be cheering, laughter and other sounds of people enjoying themselves.
This noise concept often gets raised as an objection to a new project. Usually, though, it’s not in relation to a new dance club or an industrial operation — another recent example was when a woman wanted to set up a daycare in a residential neighbourhood. Neighbours were concerned the number of children allowed at the daycare would generate too much noise.
Children playing? Noise? It’s not motorcycles being revved, folks.
Over the past couple of years there have been a number of controversies, especially when it comes to Penticton city council and developments. Though the concern is justifiable, the protests have led to Penticton developing a reputation as a no-fun city. Besides the effects that reputation might have on tourism, a major economic driver, do we really want to be known as a place where laughter and the sounds of people having fun are frowned upon?
Not all types of fun are appropriate for all places. A nightclub, for example, doesn’t belong in a residential neighbourhood. But a daycare does, just as a BMX track is a great addition to a park. Being concerned about a new development that may change the face of an area or a neighbourhood is appropriate, but lumping in joyful sounds with those concerns makes it seem like Penticton is a dour place indeed.
There’s a line from a song, The Greatest Love of All, that has some singularly appropriate advice: … Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be …