People living along Pipeline Road in Coquitlam said noise from gravel trucks has become unbearable and the city needs to step up enforcement along their street.
Resident Francine Moore told council Monday afternoon that when trucks accelerate, the volume of engine noise can reach more than 90 decibels. And she said rules around the use of engine brakes need stricter enforcement in order to force drivers to slow down in the neighbourhood.
"Fines for engine brake use is substantial and if they are ticketed, truckers will think twice before breaking the law," she said. "To date, the city has taken a more conciliatory approach... This has been a failure."
Moore asked the city to consider paying for soundproof windows for homes in the area.
She also suggested a 30 km/h speed limit for trucks, an idea city staff said could pose safety problems from pedestrians.
Dan Mooney, Coquitlam's manager of roads and traffic operations, said pedestrians crossing a street will generally watch one or two vehicles go by before assessing how much time they have before getting to the other side. If different vehicles are going at different speeds, he said, it increases the chances of someone getting hit by a car.
"It can be dangerous," he said. "My advice would be to not look at different speeds for different types of vehicles."
Coquitlam engineering manager Bill Susak said the cost of building acoustic fencing along the route to mitigate the sound would be between $50,000 and $60,000, providing there were no problems with utility relocation or other unforeseen issues.
Gravel operators at the end of Pipeline Road have been working with the city and talking with the drivers about some of the issues facing the neighbourhood, Susak said.
"They understand how serious this is," he said.
But many of the problem drivers, Susak added, are not usually regular users of the gravel mines at the end of Pipeline and are often independent operators, making them difficult to track down.
