Residents want relief from Hwy. 404 noise

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 11, 2015
By Sandra Bolan

When the McCarthys bought their Vandorf home five years ago they thought the viewing times were a bit odd - 7 to 8 p.m. or Sundays - but didn’t think much about it at the time.

Now they know why.

Noise from Hwy. 404, which their home backs onto, is “extreme”, according to Julie McCarthy. It’s so bad her son can’t sleep at night even with the windows closed.

An online petition, started by the McCarthys, to get noise barriers installed, where they do not exist, between Aurora and Bloomington roads, sits at 72 signatures. There are about 200 homes affected. The goal is 100 signatures.

“The prevailing winds are generally from the northwest and the land in the area is quite flat, so the entire area south of the Aurora Road, extending to Vandorf Road between Woodbine Avenue and the 404 are impacted to varying degrees depending on a variety of conditions,” according to Ward 1 Councillor Ken Ferdinands.

His ward encompasses the Vandorf area.

“If my community is ever going to get a barrier installed, it will be now,” McCarthy said.

That is because the Ministry of Transportation is conducting a Hwy. 404 environmental assessment and preliminary design study from Hwy. 407 to Green Lane for the construction of HOV lanes.

The proposed widening of the newly extended north/south highway would occur within the existing median, according to the public information notice.

Public information sessions were held this summer.

But residents shouldn’t expect noise barriers between Aurora and Bloomington roads.

“Based on the technical and economic feasibility requirements, noise walls are not warranted at these locations,” Astrid Poei, spokesperson for the MTO told The Sun-Tribune via email.

When the Hwy. 404 extension opened last September, residents in Sharon complained about the noise caused by the vehicles driving on the concrete road. It forced the MTO to conduct another study. The last one was done in 2006. The results of the study were released in February.

The study used estimated traffic levels for 2031 to see if noise mitigation was warranted along the extension. The MTO guidelines stated mitigation is technically warranted if the noise levels are increased to 65 dBA or the increase is five dB louder than the no-build ambient level.

While the study found five noise barriers were feasible under the guidelines, only one was economically doable.

The MTO will construct a 2.7-km long noise barrier from just north of Green Lane to just north of Farr Avenue. It won’t be constructed until 2016.

McCarthy is hoping the new study that resulted in this noise barrier will help them get theirs.

Where the two areas differ is that Vandorf homes were constructed after the highway was approved, according to Poei.

“The homes adjacent to the newly built highway experienced both a five decibel increase in noise and in some areas the level was greater than 65 dBA, therefore, noise mitigation was investigated and it met all criteria for a barrier,” she said.