One such resident and owner of a Lower Old Place B&B said that the level of noise had forced her to phone the Knysna Municipal Law Enforcement Department around 03:20 on Sundary, February 9 to complain of loud music coming from Cathy Park. "The noise calmed down for a little while, but soon started up again," said the fed-up resident.
At 04:00 she phoned the Law Enforcement Department for a second time and was told by an on-duty female official that there was only one person on duty at the time and suggested that the complainant phone the Knysna SAPS.
Although the B&B owner made several calls to the Knysna Police the noise continued. "When we started preparing breakfast for our guest at 06:00 the music could still be heard belting across from the park."
She further alleged that the taxis gathered at Cathy Park to have "play-off" competitions, testing their taxis' sound systems to see who has the best bass beat and volume.
Knysna municipal manager, Lauren Waring said that law enforcement remained the primary function of the SAPS, while Constable Chris Spies, Knysna SAPS liaison officer refuted this and said: "The issue of noise pollution falls directly under municipal by-laws and the municipality is therefor better placed to respond to this question [of noise pollution]."
Waring explained: "The municipality has limited staff resources and uses its officers mostly during daytime to complement some of the services of the police. However, most of our officers are unarmed and only one is on standby at night - mostly to assist with first response during vehicle accidents."
Spies confirmed that the B&B owner had phoned the police to report the noise at Cathy Park. "Police members did attend to the complaint," he said, and added no noise could be heard at the time of the police's arrival at Cathy Park. "However, the members requested all the people at Cathy Park not to play loud music. It is not always easy to determine who causes the disturbance, as people tend to lower the volume of their music when they see the police van approach Cathy Park.
Waring further said: "The municipality will not risk the safety of unarmed officers to walk into a potential conflict situation, where he or she would most certainly be outnumbered."
According to Waring, signage outlining the municipal by-laws had been placed at all public spaces, including Cathy Park. According to these by-laws, users of public facilities are required to vacate the premises after 23:00 and are not allowed to play loud music or drink alcohol at any time. She added that these signs are regularly vandalised and that it may take time to replace.
"The municipality is aware of the issues on public amenities, especially at Cathy Park, and continues to work closely with the SAPS to find a long-term solution. Workable, legal suggestions from the public regarding this matter is most welcome and can be addressed to my office at knysna@knysna.gov.za or The Municipal Manager, PO Box 21, Knysna 6570," she concluded.
"Knysna SAPS will work closely with municipal law enforcement to address the problem," assured Spies.
Although the municipal by-law states that people utilising public facilities are forbidden from drinking on these premises, it is evident that this bylaw is often ignored.
