A Lot Happening on Little Mountain
Little Mountain Reservoir is part of Metro Vancouver’s water distribution system and is built into a hillside within Queen Elizabeth Park, in the City of Vancouver. Due to its age and vulnerability to a major seismic event, Metro Vancouver decided to replace the reservoir with a new facility on the same site. The top of the existing reservoir serves as a parking lot for many of the park attractions, including MacMillan Bloedel Conservatory, Seasons in the Park restaurant, a lawn bowling club, and Queen Elizabeth Gardens. Considering the close proximity of these attractions to the construction site and the presence of nearby residences, noise from demolition and construction was a major concern. To address this concern, BKL Consultants was retained to predict, assess, and recommend means of mitigating noise impact.
Up to the Task
The first stage of BKL’s overall scope of work included modelling of construction equipment and activities to predict overall noise exposures at various receptor locations. This was done for the two stages of construction that were expected to create the highest noise exposure. The resultant noise impact on park users and residents was assessed considering both absolute noise levels and predicted increases above existing ambient levels. This required 24-hour ambient noise monitoring, carried out at eight locations within and adjacent to the park.
The Finish
Noise mitigation measures recommended by BKL included temporary noise barriers, limits on equipment noise emission and numerous other noise control requirements that were incorporated into the construction contract. Throughout the planning phase of the project, Metro Vancouver held information sessions for residents and park users and BKL’s project engineer attended to explain and discuss noise mitigation efforts.