A Toronto woman says that noise from a nearby city-run depot has become so severe overnight that she cannot remain in the home she bought in May 2026.
The saga calls into question how much the city should be doing to make sure that necessary operations don't impact the quality of life of their neighbors.
Here's what to know
According to CityNews, Gillian Fahey bought her Logan Avenue house in May 2026 but said ongoing nighttime activity at the municipal site forced her to leave and rent a condo one block north.
Fahey added to the outlet that much of the disturbance happens "between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m." and includes "constant banging and back-up alarm noise from large trucks." She said the sounds come from the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation facility at 50 Booth Avenue, directly behind a row of attached homes at the south end of Logan Avenue.
She said that the sleep loss began affecting her job. Fahey told CityNews she had to call out of work and, when she did go in, made "very silly mistakes at work, attention to detail mistakes that happen when you're not getting good sleep."
She and her neighbors are not asking for the depot to close.
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"Not at all, we're not asking for it to shut-down, we just want the city to find ways to reduce the noise," she clarified to the outlet.
More background
Alan Pacheco, Director of Winter and Seasonal Services, told CityNews the overnight dumping is connected to street sweepers working day and night, with arterial roads handled after dark to avoid daytime disruption and keep them clear for heavier traffic.
The depot has operated at that Booth Avenue location for decades and supports street sweeping, pothole repairs, emergency response, storm recovery, snow removal, and waste management activities, per staffers.
In its responses to Fahey, the outlet reported the city said the site's work is municipal and therefore outside the noise bylaws.
Fahey said neighbors have been filing similar complaints with the city for close to six years. She also recalled to CityNews that she spent thousands on magnetic inserts for the windows, but found that "it didn't" help.
What's being done?
Fahey said residents want either some of the work moved out of overnight hours or quieter equipment practices, and they are organizing to pressure the city for changes.
When CityNews asked whether that option is being considered in this case, city staff did not directly answer. Fahey had pointed to Metrolinx's use of white-noise broadband backup alarms during Ontario Line construction as one possible model.
"What we're asking is: Can this work be done at other times?" she told the outlet. "If not, please add white noise broadband backup alarms to the case wheel loaders being used."
The overall effort is to mitigate the issues for residents, who might not have the means to move out like Fahey did.
"Even if you're a government authority, you don't infringe on people's reasonable enjoyment of their property if there's reasonable alternative ways to do the work that you're statutorily authorised to do," she concluded to CityNews.
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