Traffic Noise Mitigation Opportunities

Invitation!

Invitation to those interested in forming a Community-Led Group to pursue
Traffic Noise Mitigation Opportunities

As a follow-up to meetings with Foothills County Staff and Division 6 Councillor and the November 19, 2024 AHOA information session on Traffic Noise Concerns, we are extending an invitation to those interested in forming a Community-Led Group to Pursue Traffic Noise Mitigation Opportunities.

If you are interested in forming this group, please contact John Palmer by March 15, 2025.
email: johnhirampalmer@gmail.com
cell: (403) 975-5646

If there is sufficient interest in forming this group, John will schedule an information session to help get the group started.

Background Information

Traffic noise levels in our communities have been an issue for many years.

After a group of concerned residents carried out a noise level study and reported the results to the developer, the County and the Province, certified noise levels were measured in Artesia and reported on by ACI Acoustical Consultants in the fall of 2020. A second set of noise level measurements, which included additional locations in The Meadows and The Ranche communities, were obtained by ACI in late spring of 2024. The noise levels had increased between the 2020 and the 2024 studies, but were still slightly below the 24-hour “average” noise level threshold given in Alberta Transportation’s guidelines. Noise levels in peak traffic times significantly exceeded Alberta Transportation’s threshold.

John Palmer arranged a December 9, 2024 meeting with the County, where Patrick Froment from ACI Acoustical Consultants Inc. led a Noise Modeling Information Session showing how Noise Modeling could be used to assess current noise level distributions throughout our communities, the impact of increasing traffic levels, and the potential effectiveness of noise mitigation options. The session was attended by Don Waldorf (Division 6 Councillor), Heather Hemmingway (County Director of Planning), Ryan Payne (County Chief Administrative Officer) and the presidents from Artesia, Artesia Villas, The Meadows and The Ranche communities.

The session was informative, however, while the County may be interested in having modelling work done for new developments, they do not have any interest in pursuing/supporting modelling work for our existing communities, even though our communities will be impacted by the increased traffic levels associated with ongoing developments that the County approves.

Given the lack of commitment from the County, the Community Associations have decided not to commit to spending the $9,000+ required to carry out a noise modeling study at this time.

Despite this decision, there are opportunities that a community-led group could continue to pursue to ensure that our traffic noise concerns remain “on the table”. This would require a committed individual or group to take the lead.

Some of those opportunities to keep this issue alive are:
• meet with Don Waldorf, our Division 6 Councillor, and get confirmation of his position on this concern in writing.
• with the Municipal Elections this coming fall, ensuring that candidates for Division 6 Councillor are aware of this issue and are committed to pursuing this long-term issue.  Having committed Division 6 Councillor support will be critical.  It may also be worthwhile to get support from other County Councillors.
• follow up with our MLA to update him on the current status and get his support to engage with Alberta Transportation as appropriate.
• ensuring that any developments being proposed or resubmitted to Council include traffic noise assessments.
• ensuring that Dunbow Road changes/improvements being proposed/implemented by the County include traffic noise assessments.
• ensuring that traffic noise considerations are included in the County’s long-term Development Strategy and associated Municipal Development Plan, which are currently in the process of being updated.
• continuing to engage with County Planning and Operations staff on traffic noise concerns and to leverage their existing relationships with the Province and Alberta Transportation.
◦ this could include:
▪ getting regular (annual) Deerfoot Trail (and Dunbow Road) traffic levels;
▪ Deerfoot Trail improvement/upgrading plans; and
▪ obtaining GIS data, etc.
• get access to the GIS data from the County to confirm current topographic information and assess if the existing berms are compliant with the original design. This would likely require hiring someone to do this analysis

Artesia Home Owners Association – Posted Feb. 24th 2025