As construction moves along at BHS, it can be easy to forget an important group of people who are also affected by the renovations: our neighbors. These residents, who call Fairmount and Shakercrest Blvds. home, have dealt with the consequences of the construction for over a year.
Many residents expressed disappointment with the noise levels, the compromise of their privacy, and the construction’s impact on their property, among other issues.
Won Joo, a resident of Fairmount Blvd., expressed his displeasure with the time of day that the construction crew begins work. “Sometimes they start very early in the morning. Especially on Saturday, so that is the one thing that sometimes bothers us because Saturdays we sometimes like to wake up late,” he said.
Joo was not the only resident to complain about the noise.
However, Joo, like many of the residents surveyed, is glad to see the high school being renovated. “Having a better building and a new facility should mean good things for the future students,” said Joo.
Those comments were echoed by a Shakercrest Blvd. resident who chose to remain anonymous. “They start at six, six-thirty in the morning,” the resident stated disapprovingly. “Our privacy has been affected… they’ve moved the school closer to us.”
Despite the inconveniences, this resident supports the project, saying: “They [the staff and students of BHS] definitely needed it. They needed the repairs.”
Barbara Kest, another Shakercrest resident, complained of the early-morning start time as well. While Kest was bothered by the noise from the construction, she was more optimistic about the project than anything. “I’m sure it’ll all be worth it.”
When asked if the district had been receiving any complaints from neighboring residents, Asst. Superintendent Robert Hardis stated that he has not received too many. Hardis could name only two instances: one complaint of a temporary construction light shining too brightly toward a resident’s home, and a noise complaint of too many construction trucks left running simultaneously. Hardis said that in both cases, the district moved swiftly to rectify the issue.
Hardis also said that throughout various phases of the project, letters were delivered to neighboring residents explaining what the next phase of the project would consist of, what sort of equipment the construction crew would be using on the BHS property, among other information pertinent to the construction.
Anthony Mirando, Field Engineer for Turner Construction Company, who manages the BHS site, said that it’s been “relatively quiet”, referring to complaints submitted from neighbors. Mirando stated that they have, however, received one or two complaints regarding the amount of construction vehicle traffic on Shakercrest Blvd.
“Besides safety, [the effect on neighboring residents is] really the second step in all of our pre-planning processes… we’re always scheduling around those concerns of [the neighbors and general public],” added Mirando.
Mirando stated that construction work on the BHS site begins at 7:00 A.M., including weekends. Additionally, the construction crew is only permitted to work in the evening hours if approved by the district, and the crew ceases exterior work on the BHS site at 5:00 P.M. However, Mirando stated in an email: “If we have to do a certain task before school and the contractor needs to get in early, they will perform work before 7. But, per our contract documents, work officially starts at 7:00 a.m.”
However, these neighbors are halfway through the struggle, as students, staff, and neighbors can look forward to the completion of the high school renovations by the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.
