Vancouver International Airport, (YVR) has fielded its share of noise-related complaints over the years from local residents. So, it is encouraging to see what one sector of the transportation industry is capable of doing in order to meet the challenges it faces in balancing its operational requirements against the needs of its residential community living within its footprint.
Anne Murray, YVR’s Vice President of Community and Environmental Affairs, recently announced that the airport would be the first in Canada to build a “Ground Run-Up Enclosure,” a $12 million state-of-the art sound trap designed to reduce noise from aircraft engines being revved up during routine maintenance checks.
Social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Google and Yahoo Groups, blogs, etc. continue to link people and communities together like never before. This medium provides ready access to instant communication and an excellent opportunity for people with shared concerns, a cause in common, or unresolved challenges to discuss solutions, and collaborate on solving problems together, rather than in isolation.
It’s been a while since we linked the communities that have submitted comments or contacted Rail and Reason, so here is an update for our readers. Residents from the following communities are facing challenges regarding either railway noise pollution, vibration, or emissions emanating from rail facilities, or a combination of these concerns:
Florence, Italy is divided over plans to construct a train tunnel for a high-speed railway line to improve its rail link to Rome and Milan.
At the centre of the controversy is one of the world’s most iconic sculptures, Michelango’s Renaissance masterpiece, the statue of David.
In June 2007, Canadian Parliament passed much-needed amendments to The Canada Transportation Act to address serious concerns with railway noise and vibration.
It was the first step in re-regulating an industry that, over the course of the seven previous years, missed a golden opportunity to prove to both the government and to communities impacted by its operations that it was capable of regulating itself and building better community relationships as a result.
Shortly after, The Railway Association of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities issued a reprinted version of the joint initiative “Final Report – Proximity Guidelines and Best Practices,” a study providing detailed information about the role that proximity can play in noise and vibration concerns between railways and residents. Read more…
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