Beginning in May 2023, Outremont will ban all gasoline-powered leaf blowers.
Posted at 5:00 am
“It’s one of the bylaws I’m most proud of,” Laurent Desbois, mayor of the borough of Outremont, said in an interview.
It must be said that there has been a barrage of complaints on this matter in the town hall. Banning gas-powered leaf blowers was an election promise made by Mr. Desbois, elected in 2021 under the Ensemble Montreal banner.
Now only electric blowers will be authorized and only municipal employees will be able to use these from May 2023.
Outremont has already tried to ban these devices. The borough justified its decision by the fact that gas-powered equipment is particularly polluting.
However in 2008, this settlement was successfully challenged in court. This time, he relies on the noise these devices produce and hopes Mayor Laurent Desbois will resist any legal attack. Note that the by-law was passed unanimously.
Noise patterns
Jean Frechette was one of those citizens who stepped up to the plate in particular.
“If this solution really materializes next spring, the mayor will keep his word,” he said, adding that it’s a step in the right direction.
Mr. Fréchette believes the next battle will be to include in the regulations any device that exceeds acceptable noise levels, including electric blowers, if they fall into this category.
Two-stroke engine-powered blowers or leaf vacuums are already banned in Ville-Marie Borough because, as the City reports, “they emit greenhouse gases (GHG) and are harmful to insects.
In Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a leaf blower or vacuum cleaner with a two-stroke gasoline engine is always prohibited.
Moreover, electric models, which are also noisy, but to some extent, are only used between 1.er and October 31, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Did you know that a leaf blower can produce an average of 80 to 115 decibels? For example, can we read on the Montreal website that a measurement of 80 decibels is equivalent to a high traffic street and 100 decibels to a jackhammer at 2 meters. »
The city states that the leaf blower “causes the suspension of particles that can cause health effects.” For example, aggravate the reactions of people with asthma.
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