Toronto Could Deploy Noise Cameras to Bust Loud Cars
City council debates high-tech enforcement against modified mufflers and street racers keeping residents awake.
Sick of 2 a.m. engine revving? Toronto might finally have a solution. Councillor Lily Cheng is bringing a motion to this week's city council meeting that could launch a noise camera pilot program—cameras equipped with microphones that capture licence plates of vehicles exceeding legal noise thresholds and send tickets by mail.
The proposal has real momentum. Cheng's motion arrived with 264 signatures of support, and the backing of No More Noise Toronto, an advocacy group that's been pushing the city to adopt the technology for years. The problem they're addressing is concrete: bylaw officers struggle to catch moving vehicles, and the city's own website explicitly states complaints about noisy cars "will not be investigated."
But there's a provincial stumbling block. Only the province can issue fines based on licence plate numbers, so city staff will need to ask the Ontario government to clear regulatory hurdles. That's not guaranteed—a 2024 staff report asked for the same permission and hasn't received a reply yet.
Toronto already operates about 300 red light cameras that brought in roughly $45 million last year, so the infrastructure exists. Noise cameras sit in traffic signal stands, out of reach of vandals who repeatedly cut down speed cameras before the province banned them. But at least one paralegal has flagged potential enforcement pitfalls—whether noise cameras will hold up in court and whether they could pick up private conversations inside vehicles.
Edmonton is also poised to implement the technology. For residents exhausted by the constant drone of modified exhausts, this week's council vote could mark a turning point—if the province cooperates.