Nearly a hundred residents of the Saint-Germain and Saint-Robert neighborhoods are seeking help from the city of Rimouski to eliminate the noise caused by rooftop hockey activities on Tessier Street.

The residents of the city have been waiting for a solution for more than a year. At the city council meeting held on 10 September, a resident, Pierre Jolie, accused the municipal administration of inaction in the matter.

Citizens Group spokeswoman Mary Maranda says field hockey matches are played 7 days a week until 10:30 pm, 5 months a year. During the 2021 season, he recorded 500 hours of play. According to him, the peace of the residential area is no longer the same.

Ms. Maranda has been living in the Saint-Germain district for 27 years. We are feeling helpless in the face of this situation since last year. There is a loss of enjoyment of our property inside and out., she argues.

reduction measures

The city of Rimouski has asked the promoter Center Sports JMD on several occasions over the past two years to take mitigation measures to limit the noise from hockey activities.

The company thus, during the year 2020, installed the bay window on the north side of the surface. In 2021, the owners installed an industrial canvas in an attempt to further limit the noise, this time on the south side. Finally, he sprayed urethane on the rink boards to reduce stick and ball impact.

However, the mitigation measures are considered ineffective by spokeswoman Mary Maranda.

JMD Sports Center oversees these hockey activities.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Simon Raile-LaPlante

No matter what we do, it is never perfect. What is most disturbing in all this file is that it is spoken by the deaf, says Guillen Dupuis, co-owner of JMD Sports Center. He is also ready to make other changes.

Whenever municipal officials contacted us or made recommendations, we complied 100%.

It is not to our advantage to try to be closed to thoughts that differ from our own., he said. However, he is hopeful that the civic group will agree to a settlement.

Residents of rue de Laveche and rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste complain about the noise caused by hockey.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Simon Raile-LaPlante

Known noise problem

The citizens’ group from the Saint-Germain and Saint-Robert districts recalled that field hockey was already a source of inconvenience when it was located in the Teresis Arthur-Buise district. It is very difficult for me to understand how it could have been carried to an even more densely populated area?Explains speech-to-speech.

Mary Maranda specifies that the city accepted the zoning change in 2017 to accommodate the company. They claim that the residents of the neighborhood were given wrong information.

We chose not to be around the playground. It was the playground that came to us.

Ms Maranda believes that the hockey field should be away from residential areas Because it’s a sporting activity, very, very, noisy, according to him.

In addition, the city of Rimouski has issued tickets to the company Center Sports JMD several times because of the noise caused by its activities on Tessier Street.

The company has implemented noise attenuation measures including this blue tarpaulin to mute the sound.

Photo : Radio-Canada / Simon Raile-LaPlante

parties in resolution mode

The residents’ group hopes the city of Rimouski will come up with a proposal to limit the noise.

We hope the city will find a solution to bring peace to our neighbourhood. We lived in a relatively peaceful neighborhood to the city center, says Mary Maranda.

Rimouski’s mayor, Mark Parent, indicates that the city’s general manager met with the company Center Sports JMD to find a settlement. He gave a clear message that there is an urgent need to find solutions. We also asked the promoter to think about the possibility of bringing their infrastructure back to the grassroots level., he says.

Guillen Dupuis agrees with this solution put forward by the city.

After conducting the first sound survey in 2020, the city of Rimouski believes the report was not conclusive enough.

Citi says it has hired a firm of experts to assess the situation this summer and make recommendations to limit the noise. The result should be known soon.