The chart reveals a marked increase in airplane noise complaints filed by Bay Area residents since implementation of NextGen.In response to public outcry over aircraft noise above Los Altos and other Bay Area cities, the Federal Aviation Administration last week issued a plan to consider changes to flight traffic.
The FAA in October began analyzing potential modifications to its aircraft paths, including offshore routes, higher-altitude travel and reduced nighttime operations.
“I welcome this important first step the FAA has developed,” said U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, who worked alongside Reps. Sam Farr and Jackie Speier to engage the FAA.
Eshoo said FAA leadership would follow up with community meetings through the representatives’ offices to explain the plan to address noise problems.
“From the beginning, I have told the FAA that they created this mess, so it is up to them to fix it,” Farr said.
However, the FAA’s initiative doesn’t include any promised amendments or a definitive timeline.
“It’s full of to-be-determined – no commitments,” said Los Altos resident Don Gardner, an engineer who has led local efforts to compile data proving that Los Altos is among the cities impacted by aircraft noise.
During a weeklong study period in October, Gardner tallied an average of 198 airplanes per day flying over his residence. Many of the flights reached or exceeded a sound level of 50 decibels – loud enough to wake a person.
In August, an estimated 1,200 Bay Area residents filed with San Francisco International Airport approximately 62,391 complaints – 86 times more than in the same month in 2013.
“My worry is that if we (in Los Altos) don’t match these levels, we won’t get the attention (other cities) get,” Gardner said.
Overhead traffic
Noise complaints have increased significantly since spring, when the FAA mandated new flight paths as part of NextGen, an air traffic control system designed to accommodate increased demand. The tighter flight paths save airlines fuel but require that planes fly at lower altitudes over urban areas like Los Altos, which previously experienced little airplane noise.
Sky Posse Palo Alto, neighboring advocates for quieter skies, started an online petition requesting that local officials work with airports and the FAA to address the noise problem. As of Nov. 19, the petition drew signatures from 240 Los Altos residents, citing loss of sleep, added stress and concerns about declining property values.
“The noise from low-flying aircraft is destroying our community,” said Los Altos signee Suzanne Bayley. “Many times of the day it is impossible to sit outside in our own backyards without hearing loud aircraft noise. Many nights we are awakened by the same noise and cannot get a good night’s sleep. I urge you to do whatever you can to reduce the aircraft noise over our neighborhood.”
In October, the Los Altos City Council unanimously adopted a resolution requesting that the FAA mitigate aircraft noise and, in the future, engage impacted communities and accurately measure noise patterns before making flight path changes.
Gardner advocates that the council continue “putting on the pressure.”
“The cities need to get together,” he said. “There is an old saying from a former president to some advocates: ‘I hear you, I agree with you, now you need to make me do it.’ That may be where we stand right now with the FAA response.”
To file a noise complaint with SFO, visit tinyurl.com/qzfanr7.
For more information on Sky Posse Palo Alto’s petition, visit tinyurl.com/airplanenoise.
To read the FAA’s noise initiative, visit this article online at losaltosonline.com.
Source: http://www.losaltosonline.com
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