Forward Thinking: Keep the noise down ... please

Mayor Len Brown takes the stage at Laneway Festival in Auckland's Aotea Square. Photo / NZ Herald

Living in the suburbs is noisy, especially on weekends. In our neighbourhood there's that bloke across the street who uses his leaf-blower incessantly. Get a nice, quiet broom, would ya, bro?

Then there are the boy racers who screech to a halt at the humps on our street, drive over them tentatively so as not to rub the bottom of their souped-up beasts, and then hoon off with the inevitable scare-me-senseless backfire. And those bloody cicadas. Shut up! Please.

I tell you, it's enough to make me want to ring noise control and have a good moan.

Then again, our household creates its own fair share of noise pollution, including everything from my little girl yelling and being rowdy - as kids are - the occasional outburts of heavy metal, and then there's the hedge-trimmer and, most common of all, the mighty lawn mower. (What time in the morning is it okay to start mowing lawns by the way? 8am? 8.30?)

Anyway, like I say, the 'burbs are barking mad with din.

If you ask me, central city residents and apartment-dwellers don't know how lucky they are to have peace and quiet on the weekends when there are a few less cars and people in cruise mode rather than commuter mode.

However, recently some residents of downtown Auckland have kicked up a stink about the noise levels being emitted from Aotea Square, which, in the words of Mayor Len Brown, is "Auckland's number one public space".

Incited firstly by the Laneway Festival, which was the Square's first big music event since its $80 million revamp, the cries of "I couldn't hear myself think" started being heard from residents in nearby Greys Ave.

It was probably fair enough too, because at times Laneway was loud, and noise control got called.

Noise is a touchy issue and it certainly got the masses of Greys Ave and its surrounding areas up in arms. Now the apartment-dwellers are on the offensive and they intend to fight Auckland Council's plan to install a big screen in the square for future events.

While I can appreciate the residents' concerns about noise levels, let's hope this relatively small group, who have obviously chosen to live in the central city, don't get to dictate what goes on in this most central of public spaces.

Because after an expensive facelift like that, it should be used to its full potential so the city's ratepayers get their money's worth.

It's that age-old case of people moving into an area and expecting it to adapt to their way of life rather than them adapting to their new surroundings.

The Western Springs Speedway was the most high-profile example a few years back, when the petrolheads had to give in to new noise limits because some home owners in the neighbouring suburbs didn't appreciate the glorious rev of engines when they were sipping pinot gris on the deck.

Who was there first then, eh?

Yes, excessive noise is a nightmare, and tighter controls over noise levels in Aotea Square should be administered strongly, because, even though I'm a music-loving diehard, I appreciate listening to music rather than being deafened by it.

But if you don't like the idea of people having fun, listening to music, or watching a rugby game in the centre of town, then move back to suburbia.

However, be warned, there are all sorts of other noise nasties lurking out here, too.