A citizen complained to the Ombudsman de Montréal about irritants caused by the construction site of a social housing project, in front of his residence. The citizen was mainly complaining about:
- The dirtiness of the streets, due to dust generated by the site;
- The fact that, early in the morning, before construction started, workers made a lot of noise and disrupted the peace of nearby residents; as well as
- The noise, vibrations and pollution caused by the truckers who kept their motor running for long periods of time.
Even if the presence of any construction site necessarily entails temporary irritants for the neighboring environment, we contacted representatives of Arrondissement de Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie to explore what measures could be taken to limit, as much as possible, the inconveniences resulting from this site. As a result, the borough committed to the following:
- In regards to the dirtiness around the site, the borough undertook to clean regularly the surrounding streets, in priority, with the watering truck and the mechanical broom passed in tandem. Signs prohibiting parking were also installed to ensure the street would be cleared for these cleaning periods;
- In regards to the recurring problem of noise before the start of the work shifts, the borough made different interventions including the installation of new signs around the site, to remind the workers that they must keep quiet before 7:00 am;
- Finally, a new Règlement sur la nuisance causée par un véhicule moteur came into effect in this borough, allowing citizens to request the intervention of police whenever a driver lets his motor run while parked.
