Another holiday means another round of fireworks related emails are sure to hit Ward 7 councillor Scott Hamilton's inbox in the coming days.
Many of which will be complaints about the loud noise, interruption of children and pet's routines, and unsafe handling.
They're concerns heard loud and clear by Hamilton, his fellow councillors and City of Cambridge staff.
Last August, the city began the process of doing a fireworks bylaw review for the first time since 2004. It began with a public online survey and was followed by three in-person community engagement open houses.
It's now in the analysis phase with a report heading before council in the fall.
Hamilton said the complaints he hears typically vary.
"It can interrupt someone's evening cadence and disturb pets and children," Hamilton said.
"Another complaint tends to be environmental concerns, as there's an uptick in air pollution. There's more discussion about what gases and smoke are put in the air. It comes up more frequently than it used to."
Under the current bylaw, fireworks are allowed three times per year on Victoria Day, Canada Day and Diwali and must cease by 11 p.m. Any other use requires a permit from the city.
The city said it received a record high number of responses, 1,633, to the survey sent out about the review, with key themes centred around the places and times they can be set off, and the required distance from existing structures.
Environmental, safety, impacts on pets and loud noise were the main concerns brought forth.
Of the respondents, 56 per cent felt the current bylaw isn't strong enough and 74.2 per cent wanted to see tighter restrictions around the use of fireworks.
To help ensure rules are followed, 73.6 per cent of people who took the survey believe heftier fines for those improperly setting off fireworks would help.
Banning them outright could be a potential solution and one some have called for, but Hamilton believes it's critical to listen to people's concerns on both sides of the issue.
"That wades into the territory of people doing it safety and what does it mean for the city setting off fireworks?" Hamilton said.
"If someone does use fireworks for a religious celebration, you can't marginalize those communities."
Another problem is the role of enforcement.
It's easy to have rules around usage but it's another to have grounds and the means to enforce them.
"From a legal standpoint, unless bylaw or police see someone lighting off the fireworks, they don't have much to go off unless there's a witness," Hamilton said.
"If something goes wrong, getting people out there can be costly, time consuming and distracts our front line workers."
What Hamilton doesn't want to see is policies developed and implemented based on emotions.
Capturing the spirit of the entire community, and not just the loud minority, is the goal.
"Hopefully we can come up with a solution where people can enjoy them in a safe manner," he said.
"It starts with a lot of public education."
