Officials have taken a “proactive” approach after a noisy security camera recently attracted some attention in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood.
The camera is mounted at a construction site of a new 68-unit rental building on the corner of Larch and 2nd. It was apparently triggered to share an audio message if anyone trespassed on the site and was audible from the street.
“Warning, this is a restricted area. Please keep away,” the recording said.
However, there were claims that it was being triggered by anyone and everyone, and its presence was being condemned by some who took their complaints to social media.
Elvira Lount shared a video on Facebook with the caption, “Welcome to 1984 in Kitsilano!”
“How can this be allowed?” she questioned in her post.
The building at 1807 Larch Street is a partnership between the City of Vancouver, BC Housing, and Jameson Development Corp. and is set to be completed in September.
Daily Hive
Daily Hive
The City of Vancouver told Daily Hive that it had not received any formal complaints over the noise prior to news reports. The security system having a speaker isn’t altogether uncommon. What is unusual is if it’s triggered by those who aren’t trespassing on the site, something that the City checked out.
“The City’s District Building Inspector conducted an investigation this morning following reports of noise emitted by the speaker. During their inspection, they confirmed that the speaker was not triggered while they were on public property surrounding the site, including the adjacent sidewalk.”
“To address these concerns proactively, we contacted the Certified Professional overseeing the project to review and adjust the security system as necessary, ensuring the speaker is not inadvertently activated. We have received confirmation from the Certified Professional that the speaker, has now been disabled and should no longer be triggered when people pass by the site,” the City of Vancouver added.
Daily Hive went to see for ourselves, and we can confirm that the security camera stayed silent.
“We encourage local residents to contact 3-1-1 if they continue to experience further disturbances from the site’s security system.”