Relief from traffic noise for residents living in the Thetis Vale neighbourhood next to the Six Mile off-ramp, could be on the way, but they could be asked to help pay for construction costs.

The Town of View Royal has agreed to consider possible funding for a project to reduce the level of noise coming from the Trans-Canada Highway in their upcoming budget deliberations for 2025.

With construction costs for the proposed solutions ranging from $670,000 up to $2 million, councillors will also consider creating a B次元官网网址渓ocal improvement areaB次元官网网址� which would allow them to ask Thetis Vale residents to contribute to the cost via their property tax over a 10 year period.

Three solutions have been proposed following a three-day monitoring period in April which identified that the most affected residents are experiencing noise levels above 70 decibels.

The proposed solutions, which could reduce the noise by up to five decibels, are:

• A singular wall built along the Six Mile ramp, benefiting homes on Casey Place and the North Lund area;
• A longer singular wall along the off-ramp, benefiting most homes directly adjacent to the off-ramp;
• Two walls, one along the off-ramp and another along the highway, addressing most homes experiencing noise above 65 decibels.

Residents first made noise about the issue in late 2022, launching a petition calling for noise barriers to be installed between their neighbourhood and the traffic. Nearly 200 people pledged their support to the petition, which was also backed by Mayor Sid Tobias.

The matter was discussed at a council meeting on July 16, but not all councillors were on board with the idea.

B次元官网网址淚n all fairness, if you bought next to a highway, IB次元官网网址檓 sorry, you bought next to a highway,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Ron Mattson, who felt that if the town went ahead with the project, other neighbourhoods affected by traffic noise would want the same.

B次元官网网址淚f we do one, we set a horrible precedent to do others,B次元官网网址� he said, adding there are other projects the council should spend their money on.

Coun. John Rogers warned of the financial impact on the town, pointing to potential B次元官网网址渟ignificant maintenance costsB次元官网网址� of any noise barrier built that would B次元官网网址渉auntB次元官网网址� them.

B次元官网网址淗ow the heck are we going to pay for a new police station,B次元官网网址� he said.

But Mayor Sid Tobias felt that it was the townB次元官网网址檚 duty to at least consider moving forward with the project, describing the neighbourhoodB次元官网网址檚 current sound barrier as a B次元官网网址渃rappy mesh fence with black materialB次元官网网址�.

B次元官网网址淭his should have been the responsibility of the developers and it was overlooked,B次元官网网址� said Tobias, who added that in hindsight, B次元官网网址渃rappy decision makingB次元官网网址� by the council when the housing development was in the planning stages was one of the factors to blame for the current situation.

B次元官网网址淐itizens are asking us to do things a little differently and not be put off by the cost,B次元官网网址� said Tobias. B次元官网网址淚 just want to be darn sure this council has its eyes wide open when we go in to look at other approvals to consider to abate something like this. We know we will grow more and the noise on the highway wonB次元官网网址檛 get easier.B次元官网网址�