Burnaby trucker Brian Martyn hasn't had a decent day's sleep since last spring.
That's when construction on the Chancellor Tower at Bennett Street and Nelson Avenue began.
Martyn lives across from the construction site in an older, three-storey apartment building, which is not well insulated, he said.
"It is a persistent thing," he said of the noise, adding he spent $300 to board up his windows with insulation and sleeps with ear plugs in, but it doesn't block all of the noise.
He isn't anti-construction, he stressed, but feels the city's noise bylaws are not considerate of night workers and aren't enforced sufficiently.
"It's anti-us," he said. "The city seems to completely dismiss us."
Most recently, the cement pouring at the site has been particularly noisy, he said, with trucks lining up along Nelson Avenue to access the site.
The noise started just days after the catastrophic earthquake in Japan last March, leading Martyn to believe the Big One had hit Burnaby, he said.
"It scared the daylights out of me," Martyn said.
The noise was from the demolition of the old Kal Tire building on Bennett Street.
The construction noise has also put a cramp in his social life, he said, as he has to go to bed right after his shift ends, usually at about 2 a.m., to get any sleep before construction starts in the morning.
"I can't even enjoy being up after work, watching a movie," he said.
When Martyn moved into the apartment two-and-a-half years ago, he said, there was no sign that the highrise would be going in at that location.
Construction in Burnaby is permitted between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
Bylaw number 7332 states that continuous noise from construction should not exceed 85 Dba (or A-weighted decibels) at a distance of at least 15.2 metres from the source in residential multi-family, public or institutional districts.
The city is working to address the noise complaints by working with the developer and contractor to minimize the impact on neighbouring residents, said Dipak Dattani, the city's assistant director of engineering for environmental protection.
City staff has gone out to take noise readings, he said, and has responded to complaints by going to the site when they receive a call.
The main issue right now is the cement pouring for the foundation, Dattani said.
"When he (the developer) has to do a pour, till the foundation comes to grade, he has to use the road to bring in the pumper and the trucks," he said, adding this is only done one or two days a week.
The developer has about five more pours to make, so it should take about four to five more weeks for this to be completed, Dattani said.
"He has taken some measures to try to reduce the noise from the pumper by putting in some barriers," he added, but said there isn't a standard shield made by the industry to put on a pumper truck to reduce noise.
The Nelson Avenue entrance was the only possibility for bringing in the trucks, Dattani said, because of road safety issues when the trucks have to line up before entering.
The city has also spoken to the developer about being as gentle and quiet as possible when bringing in hydraulic equipment, he said.
The city cannot tell developers and contractors to stop their work, he pointed out, adding the most serious action the city can take is to issue tickets.
But they prefer to make sure the developer does everything possible to address the issues, he said.
The city has received complaints from two residents on the issue, he said, usually during midday to early afternoon.
Once the foundation is at grade level, the noise should decrease, according to Dattani.
