‘I couldn’t go back to sleep’: What’s creating an unwelcome buzz in Stonebridge?

Jim Walters has lived in Stonebridge for three years. Then, what he calls the “incessant buzzing” started. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)

Some residents in Stonebridge are sounding the alarm over an unnerving sound they say is making it hard to sleep at night, and a Facebook fact-finding mission seems to have solved the mystery.

The sound is described as a buzzing.

“I would say it sounds like an air raid siren,” Jim Walters told CTV News.

Walters has lived in the Stonebridge area for three years. Then, what he calls the “incessant buzzing” started.

“You have to close the windows. I woke up at 5:00 AM last week, one day, and it was going. I couldn’t go back to sleep,” he said.

He posted the question and concern to the Stonebridge neighborhood watch Facebook page and it got a lot of traction with many people commenting with similar stories. Some of the posts say the sound is “annoying.”

• Get the latest news from Saskatoon, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Another person said they have to use ear plugs. Others are calling it loud. One person even said the “the vibration is shaking my head and keeping me from sleeping.”

There was speculation on the post about the origin of the sound as many people tried to find the source of their common annoyance.

“I did talk to people on Facebook about it and they said it was maybe a pigeon alarm or something,” he added.

Then after about a week of comments on the post, many residents hoping to get to the bottom of it; the source emerged. Some suspecting it was coming from a senior’s residence on Hunter Road.

The company that manages Aspira Hunter Village confirmed to CTV News — it was the source of the buzzing.

“Our HVAC system at Hunter Village Retirement Residence is currently undergoing annual maintenance, which required temporarily removing some of the sound-dampening barriers from the units,” said Nadia Daniell-Colarossi, a company spokesperson.

“The majority of the sound barriers will be re-installed within the next day or two and provide a significant reduction in the noise level. We want to assure the community that this is a temporary situation, and our target for full completion of the maintenance is within the next week.”

Daniell-Colarossi said the company values being a part of the Stonebridge community and committed to finish the work quickly.

“We sincerely apologize for any disruption this has caused and appreciate the patience of our residents, team members, and neighbors during this time.”

Under the city’s noise bylaw, enforcement actions are complaint-driven. People call in complaints, and a compliance officer investigates.

“Every concern is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. If a bylaw is violated, the enforcement team won’t close the investigation until the issue is resolved,” said a spokesperson for the city’s community standards office.

“Each enforcement team addresses complaints based on priority or the order in which they’re received; sending in multiple reports about the same property won’t speed up the enforcement process.”

Walters says the Stonebridge Facebook page is very active, as residents often comment about bike thefts or porch pirates in the area. He’s encouraged that this post on Facebook netted positive results.

“We didn’t have to call the police. We didn’t have to call the city. We just dealt with it ourselves and thankfully, the company was willing to listen,” he said.

He’s hopeful the issue will be resolved so he can open his windows this summer, but says he’s prepared to follow up if need be.