A nearly kilometre-long wall may soon stand between Pat Bay Highway commuters and nearby residents fed up by their noise.
Speaking Monday at Saanich Council, members of the Falaise Community Association made their latest attempt to convince municipal leaders that a noise wall should border their homes and the Pat Bay Highway.
The pitch did not fall on deaf ears.
In what appears to be the first time in the association’s ongoing campaign, Saanich council has officially shown a level of support in building a nearly one-kilometre noise wall aimed at blocking out noise from Highway 17.
The Falaise community is situated next to the highway and the Royal Oak interchange and residents say traffic noise has been an ongoing problem.
The quality of life in the neighbourhood has gradually deteriorated with traffic increasing nearby, according to Bob Lucy, the group’s president.
“Noise is much worse now and there’s no end in sight,” Lucy said.
The group estimates the wall would cost $1.2 million and says there would be no obvious engineering problems to construct. According to the group, a berm would not be sufficient.
It’s expected the wall would run from Royal Oak Drive to the north end of Falaise Drive.
In its presentation, the group also detailed how the wall could be paid for, suggesting funding could come from gas tax revenue.
In a motion put forward by Councillor Judy Brownoff, Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes will write a letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Environment as well as local MLA’s, indicating Saanich’s support for the noise wall.
Speaking to council, Brownoff indicated noise in the neighbourhood has been a long-standing issue.
“I’ve witnessed a house that took forever to sell because of traffic noise,” Brownoff said.
The association says it has petitioned its residents and has spoken with someone at 141 of the 176 addresses within the Falaise community. It says 88 per cent of the people it contacted were in favour of a petition supporting the noise wall.
It’s unclear what the wall would look like or when Mayor Fred Haynes will send Saanich's letter of support.
