Citizens living near Highway 15 and the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge are getting impatient. Two years after the promise of fixes to reduce noise coming from expressways, they deplore that there is now radio silence in the federal government.
“We have the impression that we are at the mercy of these people, that they are the ones who will decide when they see fit to act for our daily lives,” says Serge Gravel. The Montrealer lives very close to Highway 15, which leads a few hundred meters further onto the new Samuel-De Champlain bridge, the construction of which was completed in 2019.
His group, which has been campaigning since 2019 for the implementation of noise mitigation measures, has just launched a petition to increase pressure on Infrastructure Canada and the Signature Group on the Saint-Laurent (SSL), responsible for maintenance and of the operation of the road corridor.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Alexis Dorais-Joncas has lived in the area for almost ten years.
“No one is saying that noise will be reduced to zero. We knew when we bought here that there would be noise, that’s not the problem. Except that the noise levels have been higher than the standards set out in the contract for four years. Four years of enduring noise that should never have been there,” insists Alexis Dorais-Joncas, who has been in the sector for almost ten years.
“It’s like having tinnitus all the time”
As early as October 2021, in a public presentation made to citizens, the SSL group recognized that noise levels “exceed the criteria” in the Verdun sector, along Highway 15, between LaSalle Boulevard and Wellington Street. .
INFOGRAPHICS THE PRESS
The section of Highway 15 that citizens are complaining about
In Quebec, noise levels along highways should generally not exceed 65 decibels, according to the provincial government’s road noise policy.
However, measurements taken by residents indicated more than 70, even 80 decibels at peak hour.
The Press reported their indignation at the time, but two years later, nothing has really changed and no corrections have yet been made. “It’s not complicated: we want it to be like before. It’s as if by adding a lane of traffic, they didn’t realize that more measures would have to be taken. The reflection was clearly not thorough. And today, it’s as if we had tinnitus all the time,” explains resident Anne Dumas.
The spokesperson for the SSL group, Martin Chamberland, assures that noise complaints are taken seriously. He maintains that since the 2021 meeting, a new noise measurement campaign has been carried out to allow the preparation of an “action plan” which will soon be presented to the population.
The choice of materials has also been made to erect a possible new noise barrier and the supply of panels is underway, Mr. Chamberland said on this subject.
Towards the end of 2023
His team also wants to hold another citizens’ meeting “as quickly as possible, by the end of 2023”, he specifies. During this meeting, residents would be presented in particular with “the methodology for preparing the acoustic model and the identification of intervention areas”, but also “the detailed description of the action plan and the corrective measures that will be implemented” as well as as “the scope and schedule of the work” that will be carried out.
Said presentation must, however, first be shown to Infrastructure Canada and municipal elected officials, notes Mr. Chamberland, who assures that the objective is “to ensure that the noise limits provided for in the convention will be respected”.
At Infrastructure Canada, we cautiously indicate that “the quality of life of citizens is a priority”. “We continue to work in close collaboration with the Signature Group on the Saint-Laurent in order to find a satisfactory solution and ensure that the noise limits provided for in the contract will be respected,” replied one of its spokespersons by email, Caleb Spassov.
For residents, the promise of measures coming seems encouraging, but uncertain. “We are entitled to the veracity of what is said when we know that on our side, we have absolutely no communication. We have to go through the media to get answers,” says Serge Gravel.
“It’s a bit as if the noise pollution part of a project is secondary. We saw it elsewhere. We tell ourselves that no one is going to die because the noise is too loud, so it’s less urgent, except that if we don’t think about the issue from the start, it’s very easy to ignore later, because that there is no impact on the functioning as such,” affirms Alexis Dorais-Joncas.