Milton Engaged With Pearson International Airport On Airport Noise

The Town of Milton is engaging more frequently with Pearson International Airport on airport noise at a senior staff level and I have also now re-engaged with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and NAV Canada on a political level, attending a related briefing in April. I will be attending these meetings for the remainder of this term of Council on my own accord.

Of note is the fact that Pearson International Airport is trialing a summer weekend runway alternation program on its east/west runways on Saturdays and Sundays that began on May 25 and continues to September 8. This program should give residents some relief from aircraft overhead every other weekend. This means that on one weekend, we may see fewer airplanes, while the next weekend we will see the same or a few more airplanes than we currently do between 6:30 a.m. and midnight.

The GTAA recently completed a noise study for Milton, which was presented to Milton Council in May. The noise levels from aircraft operations associated with the airport were measured at six locations throughout our community. Through examination of the noise data, the subject matter experts concluded that four of the six locations had a less than perceptible noise impact from aircraft operations over ambient noise levels. Two locations had a demonstrated, perceptible noise impact from aircraft operations, which is attributed to the quieter ambient noise levels measured at these two locations.

The Authority continues to implement its Toronto Noise Mitigation Initiatives Engagement Plan, commonly known as the Six Ideas. In addition to the Six Ideas, it has created an updated Noise Management Action Plan titled, Growing Responsibly: The 2018-2022 Noise Management Action Plan. CR