According to Director General Bruce St. Louis, last week the Safety, Utilities and Environment standing committee of city council got a look at the results.

They are slated to be viewed by the

general committee of council which meets on Feb. 26. Some of the data could then be released when city council holds its monthly public meeting at 8 p.m. that night.

“Probably that evening, Councillor Bowser or another member of council will have some preliminary feedback on it,” St. Louis said, adding that he couldn’t reveal any of the contents of the report. “Until all of council sees it, I don’t have the latitude to make it public,” he said. “In very short order there’ll be feedback.”

Bowser, who sits on the standing committee and has seen the report, told the Examiner the results were “very encouraging. I’d like to say that. I think it’s important to know that … I used to live down there …

“But I think also that council wants to have the reaction of the residents. We want to know how residents feel about it. We’re planning to consult them with a questionnaire to see how they feel about it.” He cautioned, however, that the report needs to be explained properly since a lot of the data is scientific and there are many variables.

The 30-metre prototype wall, mounted on concrete pillars with a transparent plastic top, was installed last summer next to the Ville Marie Expressway and the CP Rail tracks at a cost of $350,000. The City hopes to get answers to certain questions, such as how well it bears up to abuse like graffiti, and whether it will accumulate dirt from the expressway.

Sound tests of the prototype wall’s effectiveness started shortly after its completion. The field work was followed up with computer simulations using gathered data. While only the technical report will reveal whether the wall is truly effective, it has received good reviews from local residents so far.

Westmount has been attempting to deal with noise from the expressway for decades. A survey of residents years ago revealed that 85 per cent were in favour of a sound barrier. A medical study concluded that prolonged exposure to the level of decibels near the railway and expressway, measuring around 85, is harmful to health. Should the prototype prove to be effective, many millions more could eventually be spent completing a permanent wall extending the length of the expressway and the rail line.