City of Toronto equipment noise suppression programme

Abstract

It 1973 Toronto City Council considered a Noise Control Study and directed that a programme of noise control be adopted to begin a guiding principle of which would be controlled at its source. As a result, the City of Toronto Noise By-law was passed in February 1975. A key part of the noise control programme was the adoption of a policy that the City would purchase acoustically designed equipment for use in its Operations and Sanitation Sections. The objective of this policy was to establish guideline noise levels to encourage private contractors to use the quietest available equipment on road construction, utility upgrading and maintenance work within the City boundaries. Further steps taken towards achieving a quieter environment included a social perception survey, and ongoing testing of construction machinery to establish practical noise emission levels for various kinds of construction equipment such as air compressors, jack hammers, backhoes etc