Residents of Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough lament plane noise during temporary reroute
Mira Solomon has been living in the Montreal's Bois-Franc neighbourhood in the borough of Saint-Laurent for more than a decade, and she has always heard planes flying overhead.
But it has never been this loud, nor this frequent.
"It's extremely loud. It's too much. It's unbearable. It's unlivable," she said.
"I feel like it's a home invasion in some way when you're sitting at your home, trying to have down time, and you feel like you can't even relax for a few minutes because the whole building is shaking and vibrating."
This is an all new issue she's been experiencing over the last couple weeks and not something she or her neighbours are used to. Erwin Torio said he's noticed an increase in flight frequency overhead, and it just keeps getting noisier.
"When there's constant passing every five minutes, it can get bothersome," Torio said. "When you are trying to have a conversation with someone, you have to pause."
Erwin Torio says noise from the airport has increased in frequency and it's louder. (Sandra Hercegova/CBC)
Eric Forest, a spokesperson for the airport authority, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), said in an email that the north runway is undergoing a significant rehabilitation, and it requires the temporary closure of a taxiway as well.
He said it is crucial for the ADM to ensure that its facilities, especially the runways and taxiways, "meet the highest standards of safety and reliability."
The renovation work began on Sept. 11 and will conclude on Nov. 17, he said. This work period was selected because it is outside normal peak travel times, he added.
The temporary closure of the taxiway has meant modifying operations during northeast winds as aircraft must take off and land into the wind.
During southwest winds, which occur approximately 70 per cent of the time, aircraft fly over Montreal on their final approach to land, and during northeast winds, they take off in the direction of the city.
Usually, during northeast winds, NAV Canada, the country's air traffic controller, favours the south runway for takeoffs, Forest said. The construction means flights are primarily assigned to the north runway for takeoffs when the winds are from the northeast.
Because of this change, the work may result in an increase in takeoffs from the north runway during northeast winds.
Forest said there was an effort to inform citizens of the work through the ADM's newsletter that was sent out in early September by email to subscribers.
Information and an explanatory video was posted to the ADM's website as well, he said. The English-language video was posted to YouTube and as of Tuesday, it has about 130 views. The French version has a bit over 300 views.
The work plan was presented in December to members of the advisory committee on noise, which includes two elected officials from Montreal, he said.
"It is worth noting that at the end of the project, the north runway will not require major work for approximately 20 years," he said.
