The City of Cambridge is reviewing its noise bylaw after 2026 World Cup watch parties at the Gaslight District garnered some unwanted attention. The events were well attended and, at times, noisy. “The city had received a number of complaints regarding noise over the last four or five weeks, and, unfortunately, that resulted in two tickets being issued for amplified noise,” Hardy Bromberg, Cambridge’s general manager, said. The situation sparked a review of the city’s current rules. “I think the crux of the issue is we have a noise bylaw that’s over 20-years-old, and it may have served the community very well over that time, but the community has changed,” Bromberg said. Bromberg said the language used in the current bylaw is vague and subjective. “We don’t want to restrict fun, but we also want to make sure that we have more people living in our downtown core and more people living around our parks and more people, frankly, using our parks and spaces,” Bromberg said. City staff are working on drafting a new bylaw that will include defined parameters such as decibel levels and time exemptions. City councillor Sherri Roberts said the current system doesn’t serve anyone well. “It makes it very hard for people on both sides, people planning events and the people in the community, to understand how to complain, when to complain, what’s acceptable,” Roberts said. Bromberg anticipates the new noise bylaw will be ready to go before council in the fall and, if approved, it could be in place before next summer’s events.
