Some residents in the southeast Calgary community of Riverbend are voicing concerns about traffic noise from Glenmore Trail, saying more sound proofing is needed. Barry Mcauley’s home is one of the closest to Glenmore Trail S.E. “(The noise), it’s a constant, daily thing” Mcauley said. “It’s early in the morning, even late at night.” Mcauley got triple-pane windows installed to prevent sound from seeping into his home but says he can still hear it inside. Outside, he has a BBQ and hot tub which he says can be difficult to enjoy due to the noise. A sound wall does run along that patch of Glenmore Trail S.E. next to the homes. “The current noise barrier is not doing what it was engineered and designed for,” said Kathleen Schroeder, another area resident bothered by the noise. “It’s exceptionally loud. It’s changed the way that we use our homes.” Schroeder says she doesn’t get to use her backyard as much as she’d like because of the noise, adding that it’s louder than when she purchased the house. Schroeder says she made a request through 311 for the City of Calgary to look at the effectiveness of the sound wall in July of 2025. The city conducted a noise assessment for the area in June and found the recorded noise levels exceed The City of Calgary’s design noise level criteria of 65 decibels. “I’m kind of in limbo,” Schroeder said. “I have the report that was mailed out to me that says ‘it’s over the limit, we’ll put in on the review list.’” A letter from the city highlights the area as a “potential candidate in the forthcoming revision of the Noise Barrier Retrofit Program (NBRP), scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.” Areas considered for revision are based on number of homes impacted, severity of the current traffic noise conditions, extent of noise reduction required and estimated cost of noise mitigation. Residents in Riverbend hope help is on the way sooner than later. “Trees would be fantastic. I know the city has been looking at increasing the (urban) canopies and donating trees,” Schroeder said. “A couple of extra bricks on top of (the wall) wouldn’t hurt.” In a statement, Ward 11 Coun. Rob Ward said the City of Calgary found the noise level at one of two Riverbend locations exceeded design noise level criterion. He said the second location did not exceed the city’s current threshold. Despite that, he says he can understand why residents experiencing traffic noise every day may still feel that the level is disruptive. “At this point, I don’t want to get ahead of the city’s process or promise residents that a new or extended sound wall will be built,” Ward said. “My office will be following this closely with administration. “I want to understand what mitigation options are available, how this location will be evaluated in the upcoming program review and what the realistic timeline would be if it qualifies for funding. “Residents have been persistent in raising this issue, and I want to make sure their concerns receive a fair assessment through that process.” The City of Calgary has a website where residents can make requests for noise barriers and check the status of current and past requests. You can also see a list of priority locations that are eligible for construction in the 2023-26 budget cycle.
