Mystery vibration rattles Saskatoon homeowners while manufacturing plant hunts for cause
CBC
Sylvain Quirion describes it as a "pulsating hum" that rattles his oven, his barbecue, silverware and toolbox in his garage.
Carol Zentler says the "terrible vibrations" are cracking her walls, stopping clocks and shaking her china cabinet, while Gary Poleschuk calls it simply "the vibration."
The trio live side by side in bungalows on the 1700 block of First Avenue North in Saskatoon. For the past two years, they and other neighbours on the block say they've lived with a mysterious vibration that comes at different hours of the day, evening and middle of the night.
The residents say it all began when ABC Manufacturing built a block-long warehouse that looms over their homes from across the back alley.
"It's been two years now and, yeah, ever since they moved in we've just been getting vibrations all the time," said Quirion.
Both Zentner and Poleschuk have lived in their homes for more than three decades.
"I turn a lot of music up, it's just stressful for me because it's a constant low hum. You can constantly feel and hear it in this house," said Zentner.
Matt Grazier, director of the city's Community Standards Department, wrote in an email that the bylaw compliance team has completed several inspections in the area, both inside the building and at some of the nearby residences, "and have not observed in-person any instance of the issue."
Grazier wrote that "the case is not closed — we have an open file on this property and are continuing to follow up with some of the residents in the area to hopefully pinpoint what may be causing the noise issue. Complaints do coincide with construction of the new ABC building but we have not seen any firsthand evidence to support the building is causing the noise."
Both Quirion and Zentner take a dim view of the action taken by the city. Zentner has collected a stack of correspondence from a raft of civic officials and councillors, adding that she has yet to get a satisfactory explanation.
Quirion offers a blunt take on the experience. "The only thing we ever get from the city is not very much," he said.
"They don't really do a whole lot about it."
ABC Manufacturing makes ventilation systems for mining and aviation companies. In 2020, it proposed a manufacturing and warehouse project between the 1700 blocks of Quebec Avenue and First Avenue North.
It's been in the neighbourhood since 1995 and the 2,500-square-metre "Plant 3" is the latest building in its complex.
The Hudson's Bay Company vanished in June, when the last of its stores ceased operations, but its presence in Winnipeg might never be fully erased.
At a Prince Albert public library branch, the usual quiet is replaced with the sound of children laughing and lining up for autographs as Prince Albert Raiders players settle in for an evening of reading.
When a fire broke out at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market in the early hours of Christmas Day, John Bell was among the first on scene.
For the first time in 20 years, Edmonton’s police chief is a local hire.
One of the most popular hot springs in northeastern B.C. appears to be cooling off — or at the very least feeling that way — according to First Nations researchers who have been taking the temperature of the popular spot off the Alaska Highway.
No longer do the waves of Lake Timmicaca lap against car bumpers.
Municipal councils across Essex County and in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia have spent this year’s budget season trying to keep tax increases manageable while battling inflation and soaring policing costs and weighing the immediate cost of repairing aging infrastructure against the long-term cost of holding off.
Construction on Marda Loop’s main streets project may have quieted down, but redevelopment work continues at several locations along 34th Avenue. This time, the focus is on preserving the street’s history.
As both the provincial and federal governments hone in on mining opportunities in northern Ontario, supporting local industries and building safer highways are top of mind for regional leaders this year.
Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.
Ontario’s two main opposition parties will try to turn the page on what was a difficult year, with one rebuilding after an underwhelming leadership vote result and another searching for a new person to take the party helm.
This year, two things will happen to Canada's fiscal watchdog: Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques will be replaced or made permanent, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will publish its review of the office.
As the era of bilateral bad blood between Canada and the U.S. drags on, some snowbirds are facing a choice this January: Go south to warmer climes, or boycott a country that has gone from friend to somewhat of a foe.