Due to the presence of two supermarkets ie NTUC and ECONminimart, cargo trucks are a common sight. Admittedly, there may be a price to pay in the name of convenience, however of late, the problem has been intensified. I have been residing in this estate for the last 5 years and have seen the problem escalating. Noise or unwanted sound can cause annoyance, stress and in extreme circumstances, sleep deprivation. This has indeed been a major problem for myself over the past few months when I had to tolerate the entrance of heavy vehicles as early as 630am and as late as 10pm or sometimes even at midnight. Even on weekends when most people have the luxury of resting, trucks would stream in intermittently at odd hours of the day. It has caused me incessant headaches and gastritis due to the stress induced by the noise. In addition, at times, when the trucks are illegally parked, private cars which wish to move out of their lots are unable to do so and would honk nonstop. I do understand that the estate is relatively small and to have conveniences by your doorstep comes with some inconvenience. However, the cacophony of noise is truly unbearable. I do believe that the respective vendors are able to minimize such inconsiderate acts. Research demonstrated that young children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental health hazards, and some health and learning problems are linked to pollutants. A fair proportion of the community here, have children. This means we must protect our children against environmental hazards in homes, schools, and communities that can threaten or impair their long-term health and ability to learn.
To make matters worse, the drivers of the heavy vehicles do not switch off their engines whilst unloading. Fumes as such, find its way up my bedroom. For your information, the unloading bay is an enclosed area and all most units are having their bedrooms facing the bay. This translates to bad air quality whilst most at still at home, possibly in the bedroom, at that early hour. Drivers should turn off their engines when their vehicles are stationary. Motorists should not leave their engines idling unnecessarily as such an inconsiderate act produces pollution and wastes fuel. It is also an offence under the Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular Emissions). I see an urgent need to highlight this deploring matter (which for the record I did...sent a letter to the relevant authorities over the wkend) as coupled with the lift upgrading (which is beyond our control), the air quality and noise level has dwindled tremendously and has serious repercussions on the residents.
The lift upgrading fyi is right by my window. I'm not kidding. A peek out of my bedroom window n there u see, a hugeass monstrous crane piling up a new lift shaft. Another price to pay for convenience? URGH i didn't even want the lift upgrade! To make matters worse, the lift at my own block has not been upgraded and works will soon start! I don't know how to survive. The thought of moving back to dad's peaceful condo did come to mind, but between a pig sty and noise pollution, I choose the latter. Then there's always mil's place which is just 2 blks away. But there's 4 other residents in the house, I certainly don't want my privacy to be invaded. Last resort? BUY A NEW HOUSE! ha! An extremely tempting thought. Am contemplating especially since this is our 5th year. However, sweetie has just found a job (which hopefully can be his long-term ticket to retirement) and well, things are just too financially unstable at the moment. So I guess I'm back to square one. *SIGH*
