The Byron Gravel Pit, the sixteenth-largest gravel pit in Canada, is found in the southwest of London, Ontario. At one time, it was impossible to get so much as a glimpse of the pit but the trees blocking the view have been cut down. Now, one can see a bit of the pit from Colonel Talbot Road. The pit is on the western end of the Ingersoll Moraine, a mix of silt, sand and stony soil (till) deposited by a melting glacier about 13,000 years ago. Some estimate that the pit may remain open for another couple of decades but housing is appearing on the edge of the pit. I feel it will not be all that long before the NIMBY (not in my backyard) fight to close the pit, and put an end to the dust, begins.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Gravel pit right in town
The Byron Gravel Pit, the sixteenth-largest gravel pit in Canada, is found in the southwest of London, Ontario. At one time, it was impossible to get so much as a glimpse of the pit but the trees blocking the view have been cut down. Now, one can see a bit of the pit from Colonel Talbot Road. The pit is on the western end of the Ingersoll Moraine, a mix of silt, sand and stony soil (till) deposited by a melting glacier about 13,000 years ago. Some estimate that the pit may remain open for another couple of decades but housing is appearing on the edge of the pit. I feel it will not be all that long before the NIMBY (not in my backyard) fight to close the pit, and put an end to the dust, begins.
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unfortunatley it is not ever really the build up of dust in the air but the noise. I've worked in a few pits where the company would buy the surrounding area to avoid issues like this. Had there already been housing there, they would have offered full price for the houses one family at a time. Which I think is a great idea considering that with this economy, it may be very hard to get that price you where looking for anyhow. Take the money and go because more than 90%, that pit will go up regardless. It's a constant loosing battle for the compainies who try soo hard to quiet their machines and water the roads. Put less into the air pollution wise. We were told that if you werent moving the machine was to be off. Garbage was mandatory to be in a bin. NO leaks were acceptable and the area of land around the site was to be treated as if it were gold.
The right company will try as hard as possible to be as earth friendly and responsible as they can be. It's 1000 times harder for a company to fight back once a neighbourhood has come together to shut them down.
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