Published
Wed, Oct 18, 2017, 16:44
- Following another summer of excessive noise, the process is underway to turn the rowdy strip into a Special Acoustic Protection Zone.
San Antonio council in Ibiza will impose tougher sound restrictions on popular tourist party zone The West End after another summer of excessive noise.
According to Diario De Ibiza, noise levels in the rowdy strip, which is home to a number of bars and clubs, peaked at 85.9 dB this season—20 dB above the lawful limit. As a result, The West End will be declared a Special Acoustic Protection Zone (ZPAE), a classification that won't be lifted until the new limits—65 dB during the day and 55 dB at night—are consistently respected. A set of noise-reducing measures will be approved by a team of technicians in the coming months.
"The studies we've conducted over the course of two years show that the limits have been breached," said San Antonio mayor José Tur. "The council cannot ignore it and, so, they need to establish the mechanisms by which to return the area to a state of normality."
San Antonio's environmental official, Pablo Valdés, added: "This could and should be a turning point for the area. [San Antonio] is trying to recuperate its conviviality and to face up to the noise issues that, due to public-order disturbances and the perception of the current tourism model as hostile, have caused the depopulation of the urban centre."
It's not the first time San Antonio council has targeted the local party scene—in September 2016, officials considered a ban on new open-air venues being built.