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Richmond noise robs Vancouverites of sleep

When Kim Wayman moved into Fraserlands in 1991, she was greeted by a sign that said, “Welcome to Vancouver’s best kept little secret.” The area today is not the same quiet riverside community of townhouses and condos.

When Kim Wayman moved into Fraserlands in 1991, she was greeted by a sign that said, “Welcome to Vancouver’s best kept little secret.”

The area today is not the same quiet riverside community of townhouses and condos.

Many residents have been unable to sleep due to the sound of crashing metal and beeping trucks coming from Richmond across the Fraser River. The Richmond side of the water is zoned as light industrial.

Wayman and other residents started hearing the noise around the clock about four years ago. She even remembers hearing it one Christmas Day.

“I can feel it in my stomach,” said Leslie Zien, Wayman’s sister who also lives in the district with their mother. “It’s a terrible vibration. When I go into my bathroom, shut the door and turn on the shower, I can still hear it.”

Wayman remembers how peaceful the neighbourhood used to be. “We used to sit on my mother’s porch and drink wine at night. You could actually hear fish jumping out of the water.”

“There just doesn’t seem to be much control in the area,” said Ann Talbot, a resident of 15 years. In recent years, she has been sleeping with earplugs but is still occasionally awakened by the noise. “I would like to see industry and residents work together so that they can live together, but I think a lot of what’s happening there is all ad hoc. There’s no sensitivity to the environment or neighbours.”

Tobin Postma, City of Vancouver communications manager, said the City of Richmond should be handling the issue because it’s within the suburb’s boundaries.

Ted Townsend, senior manager of corporate communications in the City of Richmond, said action is usually only taken when the complaint comes from a Richmond resident. But he said the city is working to resolve the problem based on the complaints received.

Ray-Mont Logistics owns a major facility in the light industrial zone where the noise is coming from. CN supplies rail cars and containers while Ray-Mont operates terminals seven days a week.

Zien has spoken with Charles Raymond, Ray-Mont’s CEO, about the noise. “He said he couldn’t stop the graveyard shift, but one solution would be to buy air conditioning units for all disturbed residents,” she said.

Zien said other suggestions Raymond mentioned include putting up walls, planting trees and changing the facility’s entrances and exits.

“Ray-Mont Logistics is proud to say it always behaved as a good corporate citizen, and will continue to do so, as it complies with all industry standards and municipal regulations governing the logistics activities that have been taking place at its Richmond facilities,” read a statement emailed by Raymond to the Courier.

Wayman and Zien met with Suzanne Anton, Liberal MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, on June 27.

Anton suggested contacting the mayor of Richmond and that the issue will require cooperation between both cities, according to Zien.

Wayman and Zien are planning a petition to submit to both cities. They hope sound measurements will be taken at night and efforts made to reduce noise.

The area is being reinvented by Wesgroup Properties as the River District. Development will cover 130 acres and include 7,000 homes with shops, restaurants, schools, day cares, parks, improved transit and a community centre. The growth is happening over the next 15 to 20 years.

Wayman doesn’t know how future residents will cope with the noise. She thinks it will affect real estate prices in the area.

“All we want is to be able to sleep,” said Wayman. “We need peace and tranquility some part of our days.”

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