Editor:
Re: Construction noise riles uptown neighbours, Aug. 17.
As a resident of the Miramar Village Tower ‘A’ on Russell Avenue – between Foster Street and Johnston Road, at the epicenter of uptown development – I sympathize with Terry Alcorn and understand his distress and frustration.
With work on the Foster Martin towers on White Rock Commons, just across from his complex and down the street from ours, scheduled to start in January, and with the mid-level towers approved for the east side of Johnston Road just below Thrift Avenue, the disruption to the normal flow and peace and quiet of the neighbourhood will be off the charts.
Having said that, I’d like to offer a correction to the account as it was written.
Beyond Alcorn’s valid personal experiences, I believe the story relies too much on what he’s “heard” from others about start/finish time infringement and ineffective enforcement. In other words, there’s an over-reliance on second- or even third-hand information and opinion, and not enough factual information.
It seems unfair to lump the various contractors in together.
Your article notes his belief that “there is a perception that the multiple projects in the area – including the new phase of the Miramar development at Thrift and Johnston – are competitively pushing the envelope on work start times, resulting in an incremental creep earlier.”
As far as the new phases of the Miramar Village development are concerned, I must respectfully disagree. I overlook the construction “pit” that was once the Hillcrest Mall. In anticipation of what I believed were going to be the inevitable start- and finish-time infractions, I have closely monitored the associated activity – from the start of the demolition of the Hillcrest Mall to today.
It’s been my observation that, to date, you could set your watch by the start and finish times of the general contractor, Axiom Builders.
Needless to say, I’m very happy about that and thought it important to mention, in light of the generalities that were being offered.
Fraser Drummond, White Rock
