Noise measurement data recorded in Ahuntsic in July showed a deterioration of the situation from previous months. We know that for a second consecutive year, Aéroports de Montréal decided to work on the South runway (06R-24L) for a period of five months and divert the bulk of its traffic to the north runway (06L-24R), which meant that aircraft overfly Ahuntsicois and residents living to the east and north of the St. Lawrence. In effect, all large aircraft – the noisiest models – use only 06L-24R.
It was the Saint Sulpice measuring station (although 10 kilometers as the crow flies from Montreal-Trudeau airport) that registered in July the largest number of aircraft movements generating noise in excess of 55 decibels – dB (A) – that is to say, in July, 3153, including 588 at night. This is an increase of 20% compared to the previous month (June). And it’s up slightly over July 2015, also very busy.
WHO alerts are triggered
The Ahuntsic-West measuring station recorded 2848 overflights in July, a jump of 15% compared to June. The noise level there was even higher than in Saint-Sulpice. The LEQ alone of aircraft reached 54.6 dB (A) in July, bringing the overall Leq to 62.3 dB (A). That was of course above the level of 55 dB (A) that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends should not be exceeded in order to avoid the incidence of cardiovascular and other diseases in affected residents. The LEQ of Saint-Sulpice also exceeded this threshold.
In Ahuntsic-Sud, although the number of overflights was lower (over 1 400 in July), the LEQ recorded for aircraft noise alone was equivalent to that of Ahuntsic-West (54.7). Though less affected, in Ahuntsic North, the number of overflights nevertheless doubled in July…
With all this data, it is incomprehensible that the various levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) as ever, remain idle. This is deplorable.