Noisy motorcycles will continue to ride, for now

The City of St. John's plan to crack down on loud motorcycles has hit a government road block with the province saying there's no "feasible" way to address the issue.

The city, with the support of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, wanted the province to bring in legislation to ban the sale of after-market motorcycle exhaust systems, which in some cases make a motorcycle louder.

Residents of St. John's have complained for years about the excessive noise some motorcycles make. In 2009, St. John's city council passed a motion calling on Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador to ask the province to take action.

In May, the city approached the provincial government to take action on the issue. In a written reply, Government Services Minister Paul Davis said the province is still trying to find a way to address the problem.

"This is a fairly complex issue and that will take some time. At this point we have not found a feasible way to deal with it," said Davis.

"No other jurisdiction appears to have dealt with this," added Davis.

St. John's Coun. Gerry Colbert said the issue isn't dead.

"I would think that our RNC should be able to go, as the deputy mayor said, to other police jurisdictions where if they don't have a law or a way to police, maybe they have a program to reduce it," said Colbert.

Deputy Mayor Shannie Duff wants council's police and traffic committee to have another look at the issue.