Residents say without warning, the grocery store began loud renovations, severely affecting neighbors’ sleep schedules
Photo by Ashlee Levy.
Drilling, hammering, and other construction noise is keeping Tuscany Village residents, including UVic students, up at all hours. The renovations to Thrifty Foods, which are causing the noise, are expected to continue until June.
“I think they didn’t realize it was that audible, but it really is,” Stacey, a resident whose name has been changed to avoid jeopardizing their living situation, told the Martlet.
Stacey and Tina, whose name has also been changed, are both UVic students who share an apartment in Tuscany Village not far from campus. The night of Jan. 19, they awoke to drilling which they said compared to the sound and vibration of metalwork.
Along with a neighbor, Stacey went to investigate the source of the unexpected noise — and found it was coming from the door to Thrifty Foods. Banging on the door failed to get anyone’s attention, and by 3 a.m., the residents called Saanich PD’s non-emergency line. They were told an officer would be sent there as soon as one became available.
“The next day I got a knock on my door,” explained Tina. It was a representative from Thrifty Foods with a letter informing tenants of the construction and the opportunity to be added to an email list for updates. They also provided a $100 gift card for the grocery store per unit.
“Our goal is to complete the renovation with the least amount of neighborly inconvenience,” reads the notice provided to residents. “However, to assume the project would be ‘inconvenience free’ would not be realistic of us.”
“[It was] kind of a ‘sorry, but this is going to be happening,’” said Tina.
“It was bittersweet,” said Stacey about the gift card. “It was nice that we got $100, but split between the two of us … what’s $50 going to do?”
Saanich Noise Suppression Bylaws do not permit noise outside the hours of 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, unless for health and safety reasons.
According to Tina, Thrifty Foods management promised in a phone call that the “noise volumes would be looked into,” agreeing that it was unacceptable.
The Martlet also spoke with Zan Carrow, a bylaw and licensing services supervisor at Saanich Legislative and Protective Services. “Anyone wanting to report the noise, can contact us at 250-475-5456 or email bylaw@saanich.ca,” said Carrow in an email.
Although there has been no night quite as bad as the first night, Stacey and Tina say the construction noise continues to severely affect them and take place after 9 p.m.
“Thrifty Foods operates from 8 a.m.–10 p.m. … I understand that they are in a bit of a tricky position,” said Tina. “But there have been several times I have contemplated calling [the non-emergency line] again because it is so incredibly loud.”
The Martlet reached out to Sobeys for a comment on the situation and did not hear back before the time of publication.
The noise has become too much, especially for students like Stacey and Tina. “It’s actually really affected my sleep and affected my schoolwork. I overslept and I actually missed class the other day,” said Stacey. “I couldn’t sleep till 2 a.m. [last night].”
“It’s pretty much impossible to try to focus,” added Tina, explaining that the unpredictability of construction noises makes it a “huge rigamarole” to adjust to the sound.
