WATERFRONT INDUSTRIAL NOISE CONTROL COMMITTEE MINUTES MINUTES of a meeting held on Tuesday June 23 rd, 2009, 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 141 West 14 th Street, North Vancouver, B. C., in Conference Room A File No. 1085-03-N2-02 PRESENT Mayor Darrell Mussatto Mr. Chris Boutin Mr. Steve Cervenko Mr. George Ellis Mr. Don Pullan Mr. Tom Simpson Mr. Tony Veschini STAFF Mr. Don Sigston, Deputy Director, Corporate Services Mr. John Pickles, VCR Coastal Health Mr. Randy Ash, VCR Coastal Health Ms. JoAnne Magdee, Committee Clerk Absent: Mr. Amardeep Khosla Guests: Mr. Jay Jacoby Ms. Marni Grant 1. WELCOME Mayor Mussatto called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. 2. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Minutes of the meeting dated April 1, 2009 It was moved by Mr. Veschini and seconded by Mr. Cervenko THAT the Minutes of the April 1, 2009 meeting be adopted as circulated. CARRIED Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee Page 1
3. RECENT RESIGNATIONS AND TWO NEW MEMBERS Mr. Sigston advised that there are two new committee members, Mr. Amardeep Khosla and Mr. George Ellis that were appointed by Council replacing Klaus Fischer and Joe Ficochelli. 4. REPORT FROM VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH Mr. John Pickles presented his report for the last three months. The following points of interest were discussed: Trains 194% increase in calls and complaints in the last three months. Interviews have been conducted with complainants residing in the Lower Lonsdale area and most complaints of noise are still due to the railroads. The complainants feel that the noise has been more excessive and that the frequency of the use of train whistles has increased. Complaints have been forwarded to CN Rail and there has been no reply as yet. A CN Rail representative advised that they are not doing anything different than they were before, but there are more trains running at present. Complaints regarding the consistency of the trains whistle-blowing. Sometimes there are six loud blasts heading east and then a train will blow its horn in a confined area six times as well. This can change on a day to day basis. Complaints received regarding the whistle-blowing issues at the Chesterfield crossing. It has been suggested that monitoring be put into action farther down the track. VCH has been out on two separate occasions to monitor the engine locomotive noise levels at the Chesterfield crossing. The noises were loud and short and lower than the levels set by the industry s best practices and that has been agreed by the association of rail operators. This also applies to wheel squeals. Depending on where the complaints are received monitoring of these particular areas of higher than normal noise levels will take place. Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee Page 2
Trains signaling when approaching the dedicated silent crossing at Chesterfield could be attributed to the danger on the railroad. There has been evidence of homeless people living just west of Chesterfield Avenue in the past. These trains need to blow their whistles in order to warn everyone of their approach. The protocol for train whistles are two long blasts followed by one short blast which are the regulation signals. However, if there are people or wildlife on the tracks, the blasts will continue until the people or wildlife move off the tracks. The frequency of train whistles could also be attributed to the speed at which the trains are moving. The engineer may need to start the whistle blow procedure again if the train has not reached the crossing on completion of the first set of whistle blows. Two guests were invited to speak about train noise. They have lived in the same apartment for 15 years and advised that the frequency of train whistles have increased significantly and also wheel squeals and shunting. They understand the significance of the trains operating, but have concerns with the frequency, duration and levels of noise. The Chair advised the committee that the public needs to be aware of the noise complaint phone line. He also advised that when making a complaint all the details relevant to the issue should be made available, and that this was an important component in trying to resolve these issues. VCH are to continue monitoring these issues and will revisit this again at the next committee meeting. SeaBus There have been more complaints received regarding the SeaBus. They are mostly directed to the early morning procedures when the engines are running during their marine safety check. The measurements of the noise levels showed higher than bylaw levels and operators hope to bring noise levels below bylaw stipulations. A representative from TransLink advised that the SeaBus requires between 20 40 minutes of running the engines to ensure that the vessel is seaworthy. This is conducted before the first scheduled run at 6:00 am. Within the next 3-4 months a third SeaBus will be operating and it was noted that this new vessel should operate at lower noise levels. The older ones will be refitted with new engines that are to be much quieter. Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee Page 3
Other Issues In relation to general waterfront noise in the 700 block of East 5 th Street, the noise activity was audible to the ear but was below noise level bylaws. No particular industry was any louder than any other industry on the waterfront and this type of noise is a combination of all noises. Subsequent to this monitoring, VCH has received more complaints. The monitoring will extend to the 900 block of East 4 th Street and these measurement readings will be relayed at the next meeting. In conclusion, VCH received one low frequency level complaint from the District of North Vancouver. This will require more in-depth monitoring as they alleged the complaint was due to a particular waterfront industry. The committee will be updated on these findings at the next meeting. 5. DISCUSSION WITH LUC FORTIN, CANADIAN TRANSPORATION AGENCY Mr. Sigston informed the committee that he spoke with Mr. Luc Fortin of the Canadian Transportation Agency in Ottawa. The following information was obtained: No action can be taken unless people call and complain about the noise. CN Rail requires details i.e. time of noise, duration and frequency. Contact person for community concerns at CN Rail is Linda McNeil. Detailed reports should be maintained and forwarded to Ms. McNeil. Once data is collected, VCH forwards it to them. CN Rail has one month to respond to the complaints. If CN Rail does not follow up, we are advised to contact Transportation Canada. CN Rail would provide a representative to speak to community members & committees. This process may help solve some of the noise issues created by the trains. The committee was advised of two websites of interest: The Railway Association of Canada www.railcan.ca www.proximityissues.ca (within the above website separate link) Possible explanations for the noise levels might be the size of railcars, weight of the cars and the speed at which they travel. Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee Page 4
It was suggested that a handout page of contact information be delivered to the neighbourhoods and Strata buildings that are affected by the noise. 6. POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF TERMS OF REFERENCE Mr. Sigston advised that he requires more time to prepare the Terms of Reference. He will update the committee at a future meeting. With regards to expanding the Terms of Reference to include all noise which includes construction, restaurants, late-night establishments, motorcycles etc., it was decided that it should be kept within the waterfront at this time. The other noise issues should be taken into consideration by police and bylaw officers. This committee is focused on the industrial noise on the waterfront. 7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS No further business. Next meeting of the Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee will be in the fall of 2009. Dates, time and meeting room to be announced. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm. Waterfront Industrial Noise Control Committee Page 5