Noise from Zoo Lake concert angers nearby residents
PARKVIEW – A concert which took place at Zoo Lake recently left locals outraged, with resident Wirie Rust alleging that the event was too noisy and that City bylaws were not adhered to.
“In the 30 years and nine months I have lived in this house, I have never experienced sound of that nature from 10am in the morning,” said Rust.
According to the resident, community members living nearby were inconvenienced by the noise from the concert. “We could not even watch our own TV because we could not hear anything at all.”
Rust also mentioned that event-goers were publicly drinking alcohol at the event.
Residents received no notice about the event. “We woke up and heard sound checks and a whole lot of noise. No one informed us about it,” she complained.
Rust said she tried to deal with the noise, but at 8pm she felt it had been going on for too long and the noise was even louder in the evening.
Click here to read: We are sorry – Zoo Lake Sports Club
“I called Parkview police and they told me that Metro police were there and that there was not much they could do, and that I would only have to survive another two hours to 10pm,” said Rust, who was left with no choice but to tolerate the noise.
With the full understanding that Zoo Lake is used for entertainment, Rust feels that there must be rules regarding decibels to ensure that those who live close to the lake are not inconvenienced.
Ward 117 councillor, Tim Truluck confirmed that the event was hosted by the Zoo Lake Sports Club.
“The club is allowed to host two to three events a year in order to make money,” explained Truluck.
Truluck also mentioned that they were within the decibel range.
“You could not hear anything in Jan Smuts Avenue or Chester Road, which is not the case with concerts such as Jazz on the Lake.” He also highlighted that the problem could have been the heavy base of the music that was played, but promised that they will look into it when they host their next concert.
Another resident from Parkview, Maggie Blair said she was also outraged at the level of noise inflicted on residents for 12 hours.
“It has been a long, ongoing saga of noise from the Zoo Lake Sports Club virtually every weekend and has now become totally unacceptable. Not only do we have these events to contend with, but other events at the lake have necessitated that residents have permits displayed on their car windscreens to just move in and out of our areas. It has become untenable,” added Blair.
Sue Watermeyer said she was a visitor and was staying with family in Parkwood. “We were absolutely devastated by the noise we had to endure from Zoo Lake for the whole of Saturday right through the day until 10pm that night – more than 12 hours of intolerable volume.
“We had to close all the windows in an effort to hear ourselves think and even then, the house vibrated. We are here to look after grandchildren and it is not possible for a child to sleep through a racket like that.”
Morag Maynard, general manager of the Zoo Lake Sports Club apologised to residents for the inconvenience. “We value our residents and our community and it is never our intention to agitate anyone or ruin their Saturday.”
She assured that they will not allow events of that nature to be hosted at their venue again. “It is obvious that – although all sound regulations were, according to the engineer, adhered to on the day – this genre of music is not suitable for our area and respect needs to be given to our residents who already have to put up with so much continuous noise from Zoo Lake,” Maynard concluded.
Details: Zoo Lake Sports Club 011 646 3440; www.zoolakesportsclub.co.za
