Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Proposed Residential Development

Location: Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Developers: Menkes Developments

HGC Engineering was retained to conduct a noise impact study for a proposed residential development to be located at a major intersection in the City of Vaughan, a suburb just north of Toronto. The study was required by the City as part of an application for site plan approval. The proposed development then consisted of four residential towers with mixed-use podiums.

Road traffic was determined to be the primary source of noise at this development, as the site is located close to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre immediately adjacent to Highway 7, and within 1000 metres of Highways 400 and 407, which are major freeways serving the Greater Toronto Area. Therefore, an acoustic analysis was undertaken to determine appropriate sound insulation properties of the building façades, other noise control measures, and any potential warning clauses.

Relevant traffic data for the surrounding roadways were obtained from the City of Vaughan, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), and the Region of York. The noise criteria were determined in accordance with guidelines of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and the City of Vaughan.

Noise from traffic sources requires that appropriate glazing, wall, and door assemblies be integrated into the design of the building envelopes to maintain acceptable indoor sound levels. Common outdoor amenity areas require some moderate barriers to maintain outdoor sound levels within the MECP noise criteria.

The future sound levels from traffic that will impact the development were predicted using computer modelling. The sound emissions from each impacting roadway were determined using, a computer algorithm developed by the MECP, based on road traffic data acquired from the Region of York and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The vehicle speeds used in the traffic noise predictions are the posted speed limits for the respective roadways. The computer modelling results indicated that the proposed development was feasible from a noise and vibration perspective.  Predicted future traffic sound levels could be mitigated by standard building envelope assemblies, and by including reasonable barriers to shield the common outdoor amenity spaces associated with the buildings.

Acoustical Engineering Services Included:

• • Land Use Feasibility Study
  • Environmental Noise Study
  • Road Traffic Noise Impact Study
  • Traffic Noise Modelling