One resident’s ears hurt from trying to ram earplugs in deeper. Another has cancelled meetings because fatigue left him unable to function properly. Others talk about becoming emotionally jagged from lack of sleep.

These are among the thousands kept awake by the redecking of the eastern Gardiner Expressway, a noisy job that has prompted a flood of complaints and offers a preview of how disruptive this work will be as it progresses across the increasingly populated downtown.

The controversy speaks to the changing face of this part of downtown Toronto. The city has encouraged development here and – amid an increasing body of evidence showing that noise has negative effects on public health – now faces competing pressures to manage the needs of both residents and drivers.

The Gardiner rehabilitation has required shutting part of the elevated highway. And elements of the work, which is being done between Cherry and Jarvis streets, require the part of Lake Shore Boulevard directly below to be closed for safety while it is under way. A 2015 city report shows that the two roads carry together, at their peak, about 5,900 vehicles an hour in this area and staff decided it would be too disruptive to allow the Lake Shore lanes to be closed during the morning or evening rush hours. The job has also been deemed “necessary municipal work,” meaning that normal nighttime noise bylaws do not apply.

The result has been weeks of overnight racket, often going past 2 a.m., and the sense among locals that they are being sacrificed to the convenience of passing commuters.

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