Templeman, who lives at the bottom of the hill at the corner of Princess and Dumfries streets, hurries her children into the house as the bus roars by, driving down towards the Queenston dock.

"It's like this every half hour," said Templeman. "Every time it passes by, the dirt, dust and noise travels through the house.

"We can't use our deck anymore. It's frustrating. Dumfries is the only street the bus travels down."

Sharing Templeman's sentiment is Jeanette Andersen, who has lived on Dumfries for 26 years. Andersen said the street is frequented by a lot of vehicles, such as construction trucks, but she said even those heavy-duty vehicles are quieter than the tour bus.

The noise is the reason why Andersen is joining other Dumfries Street residents protesting the disturbance of their quiet neighbourhood by placing signs that read "Give Us Back Our Village" or "No Large White Noisy Buses" on their front lawns.

Resident Dean Montgomery got the idea for the signs because he thought it would be neat to send a message to the passengers of Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours on how the business affects their quality of life.

"There's a reason why Queenston is a village. It's supposed to be quiet. Now it's a freeway for buses," Montgomery said. "We also have jet boat employees speeding down the roadway to work. This devalues properties and (WJBT owner) John Kinney is making money at the expense of the village and has given nothing back."

Montgomery said he was also frustrated by the town's bylaw officer, Randy Berg, who had told residents over the weekend to remove the signs from their lawns, stating that it's illegal to have them. Berg told residents that they could be subjected to a $5,000 fine if the signage is not removed.

So on Monday, residents held their signs and picketed up and down Dumfries. Montgomery said the picketing will continue on Saturday.

In response, WJBT operator John Kinney said WJBT has made four proposals with residents on alternate routes the bus can take to the Queenston dock without utilizing village roads. Kinney said each proposal was rejected the Queenston Residents Association.

Kinney said an alternative to using a bus would've been a proposal to create a facility with washrooms and change rooms for visitors to use, which would eliminate the use of buses since visitors can privately drive in own their own.

That concept was met with disapproval by residents at a recent Niagara Escarpment Commission meeting, which led to no site plan agreement for the facility, Kinney said.

"I'm trying to be proactive with solving this at high cost to us," Kinney said.

Kinney said the bus was a hired service provided by 5-0 Taxi. He also said the Queenston dock has been a commercial entity for more than a century and that how WJBT is operating now is no different from when heavy trucks use to travel down Dumfries Street to the sand dock.