Jim Kargakos has been living with the noise from Highway 20 for 18 years.
The Beaconsfield resident says it has gotten worse with the increase in traffic caused by a lot of off-island development.
He would like a sound barrier built behind his home to act as a noise buffer between the highway and his backyard but he’s not waiting for the city to act.
Instead, he’s requesting a zoning bylaw be changed to allow him to build his own sound barrier to reduce the noise.
“There is obviously a need to do something to mitigate the sound,” he told Global News.
Global News was with Kargakos in his backyard as he measured decibel noise levels in the upper 70s and mid-80s.
Health Canada recommends noise levels remain below 55 decibels for comprehensible outdoor conversations.
“I’ve been slowly losing my hearing over the years,” he said.
Transport Québec is offering to pay up to 75 per cent of a $60-million sound barrier on the south side of the highway, leaving the city to pay the balance of $15 million.
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Some residents on Beaurepaire Drive argue the city needs to treat the sound wall as a public health issue and not a financial one.
“The best solution is to build that noise reduction sound wall to resolve a public health issue,” Michel Rheault, a Beaconsfield resident, told Global News.
The mayor says Beaconsfield can’t afford a $15-million sound wall that won’t benefit the entire city.
“That would double our current debt and that would have a huge impact on any other projects that our city would have at that point,” Georges Bourelle told Global News.
Some others who live farther from the highway agree.
“I don’t agree that all taxpayers should have to pay for that equally because I don’t see any benefit for myself on that,” Allison Chartier, a Beaconsfield resident, said.
Other municipalities and the borough of Lachine have sound barriers parallel to the A20 to buffer homes against highway noise.
Beaconsfield is considering holding a referendum on the issue to make a final decision.
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