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Citizen complaint of the day: Even people who live next to the Garden are entitled to get some sleep
By adamg on Wed, 10/28/2015 - 8:19am
A wide-awake citizen files a complaint at 3:48 a.m. about construction at Beverly and Lovejoy:
Construction all night causing a ton of noise. Still going on at 3:45am from last night. Sawing of pavement, dragging metal plates and jersey barriers around, smashing dirt, and a nonstop "beep" from the excavator. Please advise why this is happening. This is work for a building under construction so clearly not any sort of emergency work.
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Comments
One of the most legitimate
One of the most legitimate complaints I've ever seen, as 3 am construction is definitely illegal in Boston.
Can't start before 7 am, IIRC.
Special Circumstances
I know they are allowed to do limited overnight work especially when it would otherwise close roads, etc. It sounds like they are digging trenches for utilities which takes a few nights but needs to be done. They could do it during the day but if it involves closing a busy thoroughfare people get upset too and bring out the stupid "what about ambulances" line.
Chelsea Street Bridge
I live in East Boston and I am almost certain they were doing overnight construction work while they were constructing the new Chelsea Street Bridge. I could hear it from my house and couldn't think of anything else it could be. I couldn't believe there was construction like that going on in the dead of night.
except when there's an exception
You think that in Boston construction starts at 7 am, but for the last three years, Muddy River remodeling at Kenmore was done between 7 pm and 5 am. This being contracted by the government, no sanity rules apply. When one noise stops, work on Pierce Tower starts. If you live in area, you can sleep only between 5 and 7. This will carry on for a while, as there are more towers to build in the area, and Muddy River remodeling may go into a "phase 2". To rent in Trilogy now is madness.
Honey?
Yes dear?
Honey, did we buy a condominium in the city?
Yes dear, we did?
Honey, did we notice that there is an interstate highway that enters a tunnel which causes noise to rise up off of the buildings nearby and echo?
I think the broker may have mentioned something about a nearby highway.
Honey, did we also buy a condominium at a major intersection for the northerly tier of a major metropolitan center, abutting a dam, a state police station, 1.5 miles from an international airport, top of two transit lines and across the street from a major train station and sporting and event complex?
Yes dear, we did.
Well then why the hell is there so much noise? I am calling my congressman or whomever is in charge right now!
Ok dear. Love you.
3AM is ridiculous for construction but complaining about noise in that location is like saying the Hungarians were the main instigators of WWII. Sure, they were on the Axis side but come on already. Toughen up the aural defenses a bit.
Oh please. Construction noise
Oh please. Construction noise is far more persistent and annoying than atmosphering urban noise (traffic, et al., even in heavily dense areas), especially when said construction noise is not anticipated or planned for.
Have you lived near constant traffic noise?
I have and do. It can be very disruptive (i.e. especially those very loud motorcycles and those little mini bikes).
I would take construction noise over traffic noise any day since the first usually has an end date.
New here?
Oh my, that's funny.
I live on a busy street which
I live on a busy street which tends to see traffic die down after 9 PM until about the start of the morning commute. The street lights also turn to flashing yellows/reds from 12-5 AM. I also live next to a fire department. And, also, since I moved into this apartment, there has been ongoing construction of new condominiums and the movement and renovation of some historic houses that could not be tore down.
I know that traffic noise is awful (incessant horns all day are difficult); and, since my 1.5 year tenure at this apartment, I have heard no less than 3 crashes right outside of my apartment. That makes for a slight moment of anticipation every time you hear the horn. But, the thing about traffic noise is that it is no where near as localized and constant as construction noise. Construction noise is consistent from the time of work until completion. And, it gets tiresome when it's 6 out of 7 days each week, as they apparently operate on a Mon-Sat. schedule.
All of this aside, if Boston has legislation against construction work that is not urgent/emergency, that diatribe a few comments up is completely asinine.
"Honey?...",
"Yes, dear, it's not happening to us, so therefore it is a problem for no one."
I wish....
I wish Cambridge and Somerville would do this. So tired of waiting at red lights with zero cross traffic.
Here's the thing...
You caught me. I'm in Somerville. I can tell you that it's certainly done on Somerville Ave. I believe I saw lights operating that way on Highland Ave, as well, and perhaps certain sections of Broadway and also Beacon St., though the Washington St. intersection is more likely blinking reds.
Can't speak much to Cambridge, but I'm willing to bet the Mass Ave. stretch north of Porter does it.
Late night-early morning
flashing operation of traffic signals has been shown to increase crash rates.
http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/25000/25100/25167/TNW2006-12.pdf
If side street lights don't change when there is no cross traffic, then it's a problem with either the signal timing or the side street detection.
From my observation, not
From my observation, not direct knowledge, many traffic lights in the Boston area don't have car detection, they only operate on timing. I came here from Worcester where virtually every intersection used detection. I've always assumed it's because the greater density of traffic in the Boston area makes for less time of the day where the detectors are useful, so they don't bother with them, but that's pure conjecture on my part.
I was amazed on my first
I was amazed on my first visit to London to be awakened by Sunday morning construction. I thought at least *they* were civilized.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
What, where are we?
Oh, yeah ... Although it's hard to read too much into a short complaint, it seems the complainer here is complaining only about a very specific BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP and annoying set of noises that are out of the ordinary even for that area.
So I think this is a bit different than the people who moved into condos next to the South Street Diner a few years back and then tried to get it shut down (and failed, in part thanks to a hearing where a bunch of other residents showed up and said the South Street Diner was part of the reason they moved to the South Station area).
Agreed
I also think it is funny that they went to Citizens Connect at 3AM and not called the police as if there is someone at City Hall with Force 10 From Navarone just sitting there locked and loaded waiting for the call to take action.
All they had to say to 911 is someone is digging a hole in a street and there is no detail cop around. The street would have looked like an Ibiza disco with all the flashing lights from the cop cars within minutes.
OTOH
And with or without a detail cop, do you seriously think they'd have shut the site down? Nothing is going to shut a site down once they're going at 3 am.
Actually they will call and
Actually they will call and get the construction inspector out of bed if there is unpermitted work going on late at night. He then gets a BPD escort and shuts down the site. This, however, is almost certainly properly permitted for late night construction, and buttercup needs to suck it up for a couple of days.
"buttercup"?
"buttercup" is within his/her rights to complain about a pretty serious quality of life issue. If it was "properly permitted", were residents notified? Were they given a justification for why it had to happen in the dead of night? Were they compensated in any way? Yeah, I get the truism that during the day = big traffic disruption, but it's a case of moving the pain from some people onto others, not of making the pain go away altogether. You owe something to those who are being inflicted with this crap. I hope that Citizens' Connect treated their legitimate complaint as it deserves, not contemptuously dismissing it as you have.
nu-uh
Poppycock. NStar's trenching my street. When they work past 11 I call 311 and check and see if they're permitted. When they aren't, they're stopped, when they are, c'est la vie. I don't go crawling for a check for my "quality of life" disturbance.
Rx for Nighttime Construction Noise
Available at your local 24-hour Pharmacy.
For this and many other reasons, I never travel without them.
"crawling"
First it's "buttercup", now it's "crawling for a check" - both based on nothing at all except your snotty attitude. You really can't resist mischaracterizations of what other people are doing, can you?
cops respond to late night construction noise...
Nope, not always the case. Called for post-midnight jackhammering and incessant 'beep beep' backing up of construction trucks that lasted for hours -- cops never showed up. Neither of us slept and we were nearly useless at work the next day. This was back a year or two ago when we lived off of Mass. Ave. in Back Bay. Maybe your neighborhood gets a different response.
Wrong process, unfortunately.
Wrong process, unfortunately. 311 is staffed 24 hours/day and they take stuff like this very seriously. Although, "your mileage may vary" may very well apply. The inspector will determine if a cop is needed, though the presence of a detail cop will say a lot. If there's one there, then you're unlikely to get anyone to stop doing anything because they're probably squared away with respect to the city process.
All snark but at the end:
"3AM is ridiculous for construction" -There you go. Methinks you wouldn't go off with this canned "but you live in a city" nonsense if it were out your window.
But then
What would the people who complain about people who complain complain about? This is an important part of the internet "comments section" ecosystem, and it's a delicate balance that should neither be questioned nor disrupted.
(said in a hushed tone with a British accent, a la the National Geographic Channel)
The herd is skittish, and
The herd is skittish, and easily spooked.
the night is dark
and full of terrors
he's a notorious "quipper"
Always something glib and snarky from that guy.
Backup beeps should be silenced late at night
If this construction must happen in the wee hours, the city should at least require all contractors to disable the back-up beeping on all trucks between 10 pm and 7 am.
Aren't they required for
Aren't they required for safety reasons?
They're for safety, but
They're for safety, but nowadays you can use a rear-view camera which is probably safer.
I don't know if the City has the authority to force local trucks to switch from beep alarms to cameras. but it would do a lot to improve life in the city.
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/16/the_beep_thats_driving_me_insane/
Never going to happen
Easier to shut down night work than to take on OSHA and the insurance companies. It would absolutely result in people being crushed and back up cameras don't help when everyone is in constant motion (humor me).
No, OSHA has already approved
No, OSHA has already approved backup cameras for trucks.
But
Sure, the camera helps the operator, but the noise is supposed to be heard by all in its vicinity. Isn't that the purpose of the beeping? Re: "Hey, I'm backing up and I may not see you (camera or not)"
No I don't think you can turn them off.
Because there might be a worker with a hard had/earplugs behind the truck out of view of the mirrors.
Sometimes the City permits overnight work when the MBTA tracks are involved and a crane has to block those tracks. Doesn't look like that is the case here now though.
I have a 'friend'
who lives in the City where a trash company does commercial trash pickup in the middle of the night with a vehicle sans reverse beep. At least for backing into my 'friend's' neighborhood.
The neighbors appreciate it very much. As does my 'friend'. Usually. If only my 'friend's' dog wasn't awakened by the vehicle, my 'friend' would sleep better through the night.
Incessant beeping
I get woken up every morning to incessant beeping and construction noise from the upper Elliot School construction so I can totally sympathize! I can't complain because it begins at 7 a.m., but this person has a legitimate gripe. To the guy who thinks they shouldn't get to complain because they bought a condo in the city: I wish you incessant beeping nightly, then let's talk!
John "Internet Tough Guy" Costello
He would only reply, with towering smugness, that he didn't buy a condo in the city and wuddya expect, you limousine liberal? Guys like him know everything about how it is for others and are always there to save us from our wooly-headed delusions with their infallible judgment. They're also the same people who traipse into the city for their annual Broons or Sawwwks game and feel free to behave in ways that they would never tolerate in their own neighborhoods. Wuddya expect, ya live in a city! As if those who live in cities signed up to be stepped on by entitled suburbanites, who view their right to behave badly as something they purchased when they bought their big game ticket.
traffic vs. construction
I live next to heavy traffic (and grew up across the street from a hospital, 2 blocks from a fire station, above a subway station and bus stop) and can attest that you can learn to tune those out, but there's no way to tune out jackhammers and other construction noise. A few years ago, I spent much of a summer as a zombie because of no sleep due to nighttime construction right by my house.
I have a great solution.
I will offer this disturbed couple $1.00/sq. ft for their blighted condo, if they own it. In cash.
That offer only works if the
That offer only works if the couple works for the BRA.
I have a better solution
Post your address here. We'll invite the disturbed couple to visit your street at 3 am and simulate construction noise, or any other intermittent sound of appropriate decibels. I'll even volunteer to help, for free. I'm that sick of people telling others not to complain about something that they themselves don't have to put up with.
You'd do that for me?
You're making me blush! Of course I live downtown. So you'll have to compete with the local hospital helicopter (lands more than you might think), the traffic on the Expressway, the T commuter trains smacking their bells and a very large garbage truck which shows up at 2:00am every night at residence a few doors down.
It's when these noises are all gone that I find it disturbing, seriously. I've lived in cities my whole life and the noise is oddly comforting. Spent a weekend once out on a farm, didn't get a wink of sleep.
Stay longer
Stay a week. I promise you will get used to it. Just as you get used to the noises of city life once you're back from your vacation.
- says the person who enjoyed such silence visiting Westport Island, ME for a number of years. The lobster boats in the am and occasional lighthouse fog horns were even comforting. :)
Why sure!
I'd be happy to provide you with loud, intermittent noises that aren't in your favorite symphony of the city at night. I'm sure you would not enjoy it. That's kind of the point, isn't it? It's not as if the original complaint was about ordinary noises.
Better yet
Why don't you post your address here.
Unless I'm mixing you up with another poster, don't you live in Vermont?
For clarity
This work seems to be related to the new building that's going up next to the new Converse headquarters. That building is not on a major thoroughfare, although the Marine State Police baracks are back there.
My guess is that the complainant lives int he condos at 231 Causeway (Strata or osmething like that)., which is above the Free Exchange Coffee shop and the offices in that building.
Idk - that building is surrounded by North Washington Street, Causeway St, the Garden, 93 as it enters the tunnel, the State Police Marine baracks etc...hard to expect all that much quiet. On the other hand, I can't imagine what work is going on back on Lovejoy wharf that is critical to be done at night. Maybe Converse requested night work so as not to disrupt business, which would really piss off the complainant.
Delete
.
Clearer clarity
I think the work he's talking about is the redevelopment of the old Garden site, which will be a tower. They finally started on that and the foot traffic during the day in and out of North Station probably does require night work, especially for utilities to access the site. There are several new condos in the area, not just the Strada. I don't know why you want to puzzle out where this person lives, and by that determine if he has the right to complain about being kept up all night.