July and August are usually the months when most people crack windows and throw open patio doors to get some cool air flowing through their homes.
Not Chris Cannon.
The Port Moody resident said the clanging sound of piledriving taking place at nearby Pacific Coast Terminals has forced him to seal up every opening in his College Park home.
Even then, the sound is so pervasive that Cannon said it routinely wakes up his family and has made it impossible for him to do his job (he works from home). PCT did pay $200 for a sheet of sound-resistant foam to cover his office window but that has done little to dampen the sound.
“I asked PCT to pay for a temporary office space for me, explaining I was either going to have to quit my job, get fired or pay for temp office space so I could work,” he told The Tri-City News. “They refused.”
Cannon is not the only person struggling with the noise.
Russell Cullingworth lives on the other side of the inlet in Pleasantside, where he said the sound is just as disruptive.
He also works from home and said several of his neighbours — one an airline pilot who works shifts and another who operates a bed and breakfast — have been frustrated with the piledriving.
“[I have] a home office and pay my business licence, yet we as the public were not consulted on the impact and constant daily noise pollution from PCT,” he said. “I can’t be on the phone with clients without having to close all my doors. I can’t work out on my deck as I normally would in summer.”
Construction at PCT began in June to enable the company to ship new commodities, including potash and canola oil. A potash storage facility and several liquid storage tanks are being built, and rail lines that run through the property will be expanded.
Wade Leslie, PCT’s vice-president and general manager, acknowledged the piledriving is inconvenient for the business’ neighbours. But he said every effort has been made to mitigate the noise. During the design phase, he noted, architects found ways of minimizing the numbers of piles that needed to be driven by 30%.
The company is also working reduced hours, he said. Under city bylaws, it is permitted to piledrive between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Because the company did not want to disrupt families at dinner time, he said work generally stops at around 5:30 p.m.
“I understand the difficult period that PCT is creating for some residents,” he said. “For that, I truly apologize and I assure everyone that we are doing everything we can to minimize any disruption.”
Leslie added that piledriving is expected to end Sept. 4.
James Stiver, the Port Moody’s general manager of development services, said the city has received several complaints from residents about the PCT construction.
Because the work is being conducted on Port Metro Vancouver’s federally regulated land, it is not in the municipality’s jurisdiction and the city does not issue building permits. Staff pass along PCT’s contact information to those who complain.
Stiver noted city staff have done sound level tests on Columbia Street and the decibel levels measured were in compliance with city noise bylaws.
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