Editor:
Having read a couple of recent letters to the editor regarding noise issues in New Westminster, I thought that I would add my two cents’ worth.
I moved my family to New West a couple of years ago and we have been subjected to an unbelievable amount of noise pollution since then.
It doesn’t help that we live at a busy intersection, Royal Avenue and 10th Street, but the traffic cacophony and overall racket is overbearing at times.
A lot of the unacceptable noise is created by a large amount of semi-truck and dump truck traffic on Royal Avenue, but there are several other sources.
For example, there is no shortage of very loud motorcycles and souped-up cars, apparently trying to make as much noise as possible.
Doesn’t (anyone) hand out noise bylaw tickets to offenders?
Another steady source of peace-shattering racket is emergency vehicle sirens, whether they are police cars, ambulances or fire trucks.
With all due respect to the seriousness of many events that occur, are there really that many emergency situations in a small city of 80,000 people such that you are subject to siren noise just about every day and often multiple times a day? I would swear sometimes that this is actually New York City and not New Westminster.
Besides this, the SkyTrain does seems to be getting louder, as claimed by a recent letter to the editor writer. This flies in the face of an initiative reported by TransLink a couple of years ago where they stated that they were attempting to make the SkyTrains quieter.
And, of course, there is the inevitable construction noise in and around the city core. But if we only had to deal with the construction noise during the day, I would be happy, as the other sources of noise mentioned occur day and night, year-round.
Although my family and I really enjoy most things about living in New Westminster, it is unfortunate that the amount of noise pollution does affect the quality of life here.
Joe Grilo, New Westminster
