It’s a grinding, screeching noise that echoes into the surrounding neighbourhood all day, every day.
Residents in Bonnie Doon and Strathearn want the City of Edmonton to quiet noise coming from sections of the southeast leg of the Valley Line LRT.
Stormy Sopp lives along 95th Avenue in the Bonnie Doon neighbourhood. Her yard overlooks the LRT as it travels along Connors Road.
She can hear the screech of the train every day as trains come and go.
“The tracks screech an exorbitant amount. It’s so loud you can’t open the windows in the evenings.”
Since the Valley Line opened in November 2023, the City has received 18 complaints through 311 about the track squealing near Donnell Road, at the top of Connors Hill. Some complaints have been made by the same person.
In a statement, the City of Edmonton writes that the noise caused by the train is within acceptable volumes, “as defined by the Project Agreement and City bylaws.”
The total noise generated by the Valley Line train must not exceed 65 dBA when averaged over a 24-hour period.
Operator TransEd is not actively implementing additional noise mitigations at this time. The city says it is still working to find “pragmatic and practical solutions to mitigate noise where possible.”
That includes extra rail lubrication being applied three times a week.
According to city data, there are three spots along the LRT that draw a larger number of complaints.
Donnell Road at the top of Connors Hill is the area where the city and TransEd receive the largest number of the complaints.
Two additional locations have recently been identified by the city as needing additional lubrication: north of the Millbourne/Woodvale Stop near 40th Avenue, and the southbound track that heads downhill, including the curve for the Davies elevated guideway near 69th Avenue and Argyll Road.
Councillor Michael Janz said squeaky trains are normal.
“It’s a function of weather and axle grease,” he said. “It’s not just [the Valley Line], it happens on the Capital line. [Lubrication on trains] just needs to be done. It’s just a basic maintenance thing.”
Fellow city councillor Andrew Knack said, broadly speaking, the low-floor transit system is typically quieter than a bus travelling at the same speed.
“But there may in fact be certain locations because of where it is turning where it could be louder,” Knack said.
He said noise surveys were done to get a sense of where there may need to be “noise walls added to address any excessive noise.”
Sopps said she is hopeful the city can continue to look at additional ways to quiet the noise in her neighbourhood.
“Our impression was that there would be a sound barrier wall built and some trees replaced because the ravine bank was cut into,” Sopps said.
“There’s probably about six or seven homes that don’t have a sound wall.”
“For whatever reason in this area, they didn’t plant any trees and so the sound travels uphill very easily.”
