Saskatoon downtown pushes to ban buskers from using amps [Video]

The director of Saskatoon’s downtown business district wants to see new restrictions on who gets to use an amplifier in public spaces.

Downtown Saskatoon Executive Director Brent Penner is calling on the city’s environment and utilities committee to consider a bylaw currently being debated in Edmonton that would restrict the use of amps in all public spaces, except with permission.

In a letter before Tuesday’s committee meeting, Penner says the number of people using loud speakers for microphones or instruments has “significantly increased” in the last few years.

“This amplified sound takes the form of ‘music’ and ‘street preaching’ and is often concentrated on the corners of 21st Street and 1st Avenue,” he writes.

“The sounds emanating from these speakers or amplifiers are often extremely loud and sometimes last for hours.”

Penner said his organization has received complaints from both ground level businesses and office tenants of adjacent buildings.

“At …