Noise & associated concerns

NOISE GUIDELINES

Although the new West Calgary Ring Road is being constructed within the City of Calgary's city limits, it is subject to Alberta Transportation's noise guidelines, not the City's. This is because the ring road is a provincial project being constructed inside the Transportation Utility Corridor. TUC's are provincial right-of-way's established in the 1970's not subject to the municipal jurisdictions nor in our case, the bylaws of City of Calgary. AT's noise guidelines are more rigorous than the City's. The best way to understand the impact of this difference is, for the same highway noise conditions, the City of Calgary's noise guidelines may allow for a sound barrier while AT's may not.

AT's noise reduction guidelines calculate an average noise level over a 24-hour period. Should this average exceed the target threshold of 65 dBA, then sound attenuation measures (possibly a sound barrier) may be required to reduce noise levels to or below this acceptable threshold target. Noise measurements or forecasts are made at a point 1.2 metres above ground level and two metres inside the property line (outside the highway right-of-way) and are denoted as "dBA Leq24".

The City of Calgary's Surface Transportation Noise Policy TP003, uses the same threshold target of 65 dBA, However, policy TP003 stipulates that "during the peak hour, the noise level of 65 dB(A) is exceeded for 10% of the hour. This definition does imply that the noise level of 65 dB(A) is exceeded for six continuous minutes (10% of one hour). Rather, during the course of the peak hour, the noise level of 65 dB(A) will be exceeded for a total of six minutes". This criteria needs to be met in order to be eligible for consideration for a noise barrier under the City's Noise Barrier Retrofit Program (NBRP) against a prioritized list of projects from across the entire city. Unfortunately, due to current budgetary constraints, the City's NBRP program presently has no funding so all existing prioritized projects and any new noise barrier applications are on hold for the foreseeable future pending new funding by the City.

Bullet #3 of AT's guidelines appears to open the door for discussions regarding the potential application of the City of Calgary's more stringent guidelines.

INCREASED TRAFFIC NOISE = #1 CONCERN

The impact of increased traffic noise from the new WCRR is the number one concern for residents of Valley Ridge. Residents impacted the most are those backing directly onto the Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC), especially those homes along the Trans Canada Highway (TCH) along the south perimeter of Valley Ridge. Headlight pollution and privacy concerns are two associated concerns.

NEAREST HOMES WILL BE 6 metres FROM CLOSEST RAMP

AT's latest design schematic below shows two "pinch points":

(1) the future position of the nearest west bound (WB) TCH to Valley Ridge Boulevard off-ramp is planned to be just 6 m south of the homes along Valley Meadow Close and Valley Brook Circle; &

(2) west of Valley Ridge Boulevard, where the rear property lines of condominiums of Valley RIdge Heights, will be mere metres away from the future position of the new west bound ramp onto the TCH.

We understand AT moved the WB TCH to VR Blvd off-ramp in (1) closer to homes to make room for the burial of a future City of Calgary sanitary trunk line (purple line in image below) to the south.

In addition to the very close proximity of the nearest ramps, the elevation of the new highway and associated ramps is shown as 2 - 4 above the elevation of rear yards in these same homes. Engine and tire noise will therefore have a greater impact on these nearby homes as well as headlight pollution.

NEW NOISE STUDY

Alberta Transportation has advised us that EllisDon will conduct a new noise study as part of the project to determine the nature of any sound attenuation measures that will be required. We now understand that EllisDon's new noise study is presently underway as of mid-January and the study will be shared once complete when AT "deems it appropriate for public disclosure". If AT/EllisDon conclude that sound attenuation measures are required, AT's project team will contact adjacent property residents.

In 2018, AT contracted the acoustical engineering consultants, Patching and Associates, to conduct a noise study along the TCH south and east of Valley Ridge. AT uploaded this report to westringroad.ca on Oct. 18, 2019. This is the link where you may download Patching's 2018 report.