The use of noise-activated cameras to tackle the problem of car hooning in Bayside has taken a step closer.
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The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued a tender for the supply of noise camera hardware for use in a trial, Bayside Council Mayor, Bill Saravinovski has reported.
It is the culmination of an ongoing campaign by Bayside Council to trial noise-activated cameras in the Local Government Area to stop hooning.
"I am pleased to report that, following Council's ongoing campaign for the introduction on noise activated cameras, the EPA has begun developing technical standards that will allow vehicle noise detection cameras to be used in New South Wales," Councillor Saravinovski said in a Mayoral Minuted submitted at last week's council meeting.
"These technical standards are essential to ensure the use of these cameras will stand up in a court of law.
"The EPA has also issued a tender for the supply of noise camera hardware for use in a trial. Bayside has long championed the use of technology - like number plate recognition cameras - to combat hooning and I believe we are well placed to be part of this ground-breaking trial," he said.
Following a fatal crash last August where two boys lost their lives when a speeding car veered off the road and crashed into a tree on the Grand Parade, Monterey, the council wrote to the State Government to expedite the installation of noise activated cameras.
The noise cameras record audio and video of noisy vehicles and use an advanced microphone to identify which vehicle is causing the noise and how loud it is.
The video and audio recording is then automatically sent to the camera operators and police for further action.
The local use of noise cameras to tackle hooning was first suggested in the Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Heidi Lee Douglas in 2022.
Bayside Council is already using cameras at Sandringham incorporating licence plate recognition technology to help curb car hooning.
The cameras read and record the licence plate of a vehicle, capture illegal activity and anti-social behaviour.
Dubbed 'hoon-cams' for their ability to help bring hoons to account, the cameras monitor anti-social behaviour including hooning and anyone defacing local businesses with graffiti.
In other developments, three fixed speed cameras, strategically located on expert advice, have been installed on the Grand Parade and are now in operation.
These cameras will also be backed up with an ongoing program of enforcement, Cr Saravinovski said.
Cr Saravinovski thanked Rockdale MP Steve Kamper for advocating on the council's behalf in the NSW Parliament.
"I would also like to thank my fellow Councillors for their continuing efforts to ensure a long term solution for the anti-social behaviour our residents have had to put up with is now at hand," he said.
