SFO: Louder and More Often

I recently had a good talk with a neighbor about the noise emanating from SFO.  Sally Meakin has gone to a lot of effort to get informed and to rally the locals to do something about the noise.  My main concern has been about the noise in the middle of the night and we discussed a curfew here.  Sally is taking a more holistic approach to noise at all times of the day and night.  She believes it has gotten worse lately and that has spurred her to action.  She has attended several Airport Roundtable meeting and toured the SFO Noise Center (that might not be the exact name).  She believes that SFO is not well-equipped to determine which airlines, which planes and which patterns cause the worst noise.  I also believe many residents have stopped complaining to SFO because it really doesn't do any good.

Sally has created a website to address the problems and a possible course of action.  You can visit sforunwaynoise.com for a lot of background material.  She has researched what B'gamers did many years ago to get concessions from SFO and thinks a similar approach may work again.  It involves people filing small claims en masse against San Francisco (which owns SFO).  I agree with her--the noise has become a public nuisance and I also believe it is hurting people's health and energy levels and possibly their driving safety.  Sally has also made up lawn signs which are available from the website.

We have a new Voice category-- SFO Airport-- that is long overdue.  Go Sally, Go.

Comments

[Becca]

Thank you Sally for doing this.

Question: can we file the same form (SC100) for the train horn noise that wakes me up most nights?

[Sally Meakin]

Hi, Becca. We're dealing with the "public entity" (San Francisco) that "owns" the airport. We are in the first phase, submitting the Administrative Claim form to the City, before we enter the small claims phase. I bet if you poke around, you can find out which "public entity" is involved with the trains, then see what the steps are. Best, Sally

[Jon]

We have recently returned to Burlingame after a couple years living out of the area. There is no doubt that the noise has gotten worse and starts earlier (5 am!) I am happy to get involved to help address this with the accountable entities.

[Betsy]

I posted about this very issue the other (sleepless) night on Next Door. I am used to the occasional atmospheric influences on the airport noise but the recent cacophony has been going on every night for the last 2+ weeks. So I filed a complaint with the noise abatement commission asking what has changed that would cause the recent dramatic difference. Their answer - "nothing has changed." I then did an experiment that I hope to share. Sat in my backyard and recorded the noise level at different times of day. All day long, typical neighborhood noises, largely peaceful. Then at night, incessant booming, roaring noise that rattles our windows. To Joe's point, I think residents have stopped complaining because this is the type of dismissive do-nothing response we receive. Sally I will be reaching out to you to see how I can help

[[email protected]]

With all due respect people, did you just wake up and find yourselves living next to an Airport?
How about the train, Freeway 101, the wind, El Camino Real, leaf blowers, etc.
Once HSR comes to town, that may be as loud as all the combined above.

"Oh the Misery, Trials and Tribulations of living in a Million Dollar 1000 square foot home."

[resident]

With all due respect to our village idiot, nobody just woke up. It's worse than even. I have lived next to the airport for 30+ years and it is worse now than ever. Why can't you understand that?

[[email protected]]

It is an Airport.
Airports have Airplanes.
Farms have Cows.
Cows make Cow Crap.
Surprised?
I think there may be more than on Village Idiot here.

[[email protected]]

FYI
I can spell the word won....
LOL
A least for me, Burlingame Voice is informative, and FUN.
Thank You BV.

[Ted]

Thank you Sally, for organizing this effort.

Actually, today hasn't been too bad for SFO noise. There was a lot of activity early afternoon, but since 3 pm, its been pretty quiet. Quite the opposite from last Saturday. I am wondering what differentiates today from last weekend, which was unbearable.

I will get in the paperwork ASAP! Go sforunwaynoise.com!

[[email protected]]

Depending on the direction of the wind, barometric pressure, and runway temperature will determine the direction of take off.
Often during Winter Rain, the jets blast right across 101 into Burlingame, and Hillsborough.

BVP- Please consider spending your "Free Time" on some/any social problems that pass before your eyes and ears every single day.
Come on now....
Airplane noise, living next to an Airport.
Please just Fade Away so no one will figure out who you are.

[Ted]

I’d also like to encourage everyone to use the stop.jetnoise.net site, as mentioned on Sally’s site here:

https://www.sforunwaynoise.com/overhead-flight-reports

It is certainly interesting data coming out. There appear to be around 600 people using the site to report excessive noise instances, and it averages to around 9 complaints a day.

[AC]

"With all due respect to our village idiot..."

It's not quite clear that "with all due respect" is anything but sardonic, at best.

Could you please keep it civil? I'm sure you think that his/her comment was pointed at best - but yours was clearly personally insulting.

I've no dog in this fight; I don't know either of you. But let's be grown-ups, mm-kay?

[Joe]

Thank you, AC. A good reminder for all.

To Holy's comment "It's an airport, airports have planes": You are missing the central point of this post, Sally Meakin's work and the numerous people who are fed up. That central point is....wait for it...SOMETHING HAS CHANGED. Sally and I spoke about certain airlines using aftermarket replacement parts that raise the noise level. I can plainly see that the baffles at the Hwy 101 end of the west-east runways are different than they were before--smaller and perhaps much less effective.

Lastly, to the oft-heard comment that "the airport was here before you were", that is generally true unless you are 90 years or older. From Wikipedia:

The City and County of San Francisco leased 150 acres on the airport site on March 15, 1927 for what was then to be a temporary and experimental airport project.[12] San Francisco held a dedicated ceremony for Mills Field Municipal Airport on May 7, 1927 [13] on 150 acres (61 ha) of cow pasture. The land was leased from Ogden L. Mills who had leased it from his grandfather Darius O. Mills. San Francisco expanded the site by 1,112 acres beginning in August 1930.[12] San Francisco International Airport was named Mills Field Municipal Airport until 1931, when it became San Francisco Airport. "Municipal" was replaced by "International" in 1955.
----------------
The difference is that for years there were no international flights arriving in the middle of the night or leaving at those hours. Back then there were no speed limits on many Bay Area roads, so shall we do away with those as well? The "it was here first" argument is weak.

[[email protected]]

I get it everybody.
Though I believe that this issue is important to a very small group of "Media Savey" people, I do not have any sympathy for theses folks.
Holly Cow!
I would rather learn more about the Food Giveaway Program on Howard Ave.
More Burlingame Voice comments will bring more homeless, and dysfunctional families and their children to a source of support that is sorely needed.
Maybe we can get that organization to hand out free ear plugs.
With all due respect for Burlingame Residents that have over $1,000,000.00 in savings. Thank you for following me.

[Kerry Broderick]

this is fantast1c.

[[email protected]]

I am done with this subject.

Other than, demanding "SFO Management-City and County of San Francisco" send via USPS, by any/all means necessary, "Ear Plugs" to the people who are physically, and emotionally disturbed.
The Horror.
The HHOORRRRROORRR!

[Oona Mused]

While we're on the subject of noise, what about those Recology garbage pickups at 5:45 am? Deafening. BFI was never this loud.

[[email protected]]

YEAH!
-What about the Fire Trucks on California Ave?
-Football Season at Burlingame High School?
-Blowers'
-City of Burlingame Public Works:
Sewage, Lawn Mowing, Destruction of Urban Wildlife, Water Dept. Construction, Trains, and Wind.
FYI
The BFI Driver @ Cabrillo/Sanchez urinates on my neighbors plants almost every day they do a Pick Up.
I would complain, but I do not care for my neighbor.. I think it is Funny too.

[Zarathustra]

Holly Roller, you are an imbecile.

Approximately 2 years ago, SFO installed Engineered Material Arresting Systems on Runways 1L and 1R. These are pads of concrete designed to halt aircraft overruns for aircraft landing on 19L and 19R to prevent them from possibly crashing through the concrete barrier and reaching the 101. In the process of this installation, there was a re-routing of the taxiways and the power up point that had previously been designated for aircraft on runway 1R. Additionally, the steel jet blast containment structure was removed from behind runways 1L and 1R. As a result, there is significantly more noise emanating through the Burlingame/Millbrae valley. At a minimum, re-installation of the steel jet blast containment structures should be an immediate priority.

[resident]

Hey AC. Which do you like the least? Village idiot or imbecile? If you had read even ten percent of what this imbecile has written you would hold your tongue.
Where have you been all my live Zarathustra?

[Joe]

Thank you, Zarathustra. Your comment has the ring of authentic expertise. From your comment it appears 1L and 1R are the shorter pair that runs East-West? I did not realize the longer pair (19L and 19R) ended up that close to 101, but a look at the map shows that indeed they run up to N McDonnell and then towards 101. Very helpful!

[[email protected]]

If insults are the best you can do, you have a very shallow ability to comprehend sarcasm and humor in very important issues that face the community of Burlingame.
Dear resident, are you aware that I am one of your neighbors?
See you soon.

[hillsider]

I thought you were done with this subject. Just go away please.

[[email protected]]

Bye for now.

[Jennifer]

Well, we can always hope....
https://patch.com/california/burlingame-hillsborough/caltrain-noise-near-several-peninsula-stations-be-reduced-heres