Cranes, cement mixers and jackhammers: the construction work is hard to avoid when walking through the Centretown. All that construction work leads to noise. Too much noise, according to some residents.
A recent report by deputy city manager Steve Kanellakos proposed that citizens get better informed. This could be achieved by the using various media, such as the city’s website, a public service announcement, a notice to community associations, hand-delivered notices, the use of social media and through city councillors.
The proposal stems from the fact that the city is getting an increasing number of requests for construction exemptions.
As well, Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes received the most noise complaints in years. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., six days a week, noisy construction work is allowed to happen. Although most of the work should be done during the day, city officials are receiving more requests for construction exemptions from noise bylaws.
Another proposal in the report is that the city’s chief of bylaw and regulatory services gets authorization in certain conditions to ‘provide for noise exemptions for municipal projects and third-party construction projects. Centretown residents area are complaining about the noisy construction work, especially during the evening hours.
Numbers show that Holmes received the second most noise complaints in the city. More than 13 per cent of all the complaints in Ottawa are in the Centretown area. Linda Anderson, the city’s chief of bylaw and regulatory services, says that there will always be construction work in Ottawa.
“It’s a city where you can’t avoid construction work from happening”, Anderson says. “The city is encouraging intensification and that causes construction work. In addition to that the population is growing as well. So both of those causes lead to more (noise) complaints.” Lisa Blais started the Centretown Tenants Association to find a long-term solution by pressing city councillors to make changes.
“Right now the construction work isn’t reasonable; people who live in the Centretown area have to be respected,” she says. Blais says there should be a balance between the construction work and the lives of citizens.
“We encourage development, we understand the value of intensification and keeping a vital healthy core downtown, but at the same time noise can be very destructive and damaging to people.” Not everyone agrees.
“Asking for a quiet city is ridiculous and unprogressive”, says Shamil Radia. He has been living near a construction site for six years and says construction work and noise are part of city life.
“If you live downtown deal with it. Because it won’t last forever and cities, if they want to survive, don’t think short-term. In the long run this benefits more people and if you have to piss of a few for the greater good then so be it.”