SFO Noise: Will Development Make It Worse?

I attended my first Airport Roundtable Ground Based Noise subcommittee meeting today.  The group is composed of council members representing B'game, Millbrae and H'borough along with SFO employees, consultants, a County of San Mateo facilitator, a staff member from Supe Dave Pine's office and the ex-United pilot who is advising Jackie Speier on the problems we are having with horrid SFO take-off noise.  Things move slowly in government and this subcommittee is no exception--and when (if) they come up with any recommendations those will still need to slog through the full Airport Roundtable and eventually to some conclusion directed to SFO.

The discussion wended its way through the various noise measurements that are already recorded and how to add analysis of the low-frequency rumbling take-off noise that is keeping people awake starting at 10:30 pm and extending to 3 am on some nights.  Let's be clear--this is a community health threat that is much more immediate than much of what passes for environmental concerns in politics today.  I was encouraged by our rep, councilman Ricardo Ortiz, who has heard from locals that are clearly impacted.  And by Millbrae council woman Ann Schneider who is hearing back-blast noise in her kitchen which looks out directly on the new SFO hotel.  This latest addition to the SFO monolith may be a contributing factor to our discomfort.

SFO consultants HMMH have been tasked with assessing the recorded noise history from April 2013 and April and September 2014 since those are key dates when runways were reconfigured--another possible contributing factor to our discomfort.  The firm is also using a noise profiling application called SoundPLAN to try to figure out the give and take--the inputs and outputs-- of the noise that is degrading our quality of life in the mid-Peninsula.  It involves profiling the jet engine back blast, the terrain in our towns, the buildings that may be reflecting the noise and even the possibility that groves of trees might attenuate the noise.  Councilwoman Schneider provided a laundry list of the future construction in Millbrae around the BART station and that is when the light-bulb when on for councilman Al Royse from Hillsborough.  I'm paraphrasing, but Al's fresh insight was essentially "you mean to say that all of these new, high-rise, transit-oriented-development buildings might actually increase the diffusion of runway noise in our communities?"  Bingo.  Al gets today's prize for putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 4.

What we really need is a greater sense of urgency from everyone involved.  As I type this at 11:35 pm the low-frequency back blast noise is bad.  I could pull out the thesaurus and find a stronger synonym, but I'm sticking with "bad".  Here is today's subcommittee meeting.

 

Comments

[Cassandra]

4:30 am- Roaring constant.

[Peggy McLaughlin]

Thanks for reporting and staying on top of this topic Joe. I know it's a tremendous amount of work!

[Joe]

It would be nice if the SF Chronicle would assign one of its own reporters to work on airport noise instead of importing from the NY Times, but it's better than nothing:

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/GPS-aids-air-travel-but-adds-noise-14847682.php#

This bit is utter nonsense:

Thanks to quieter engines and planes, fewer people are exposed to significant noise now than in the mid-1970s, falling to just over 400,000 now from about 7 million, according to the FAA. The number of people flying has risen to 1 billion from 200 million in 1975.

And this guy should join our SFO Runway Noise efforts:

“It is a tinderbox of conflict between airports and the residents that surround them,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel-industry advisory firm. His own sleep has been interrupted by noise from San Francisco International Airport.

And here is a bit of discussion around possible solutions:

Experts say there are ways to make noise less noticeable. For example, Hollywood Burbank Airport asks passenger airlines to comply with a curfew of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Slowing the speed of the airplane is possible, although that increases carbon dioxide and other emissions, making an aircraft less fuel-efficient and an airline less environmentally responsible.

[Peter Garrison]

How about quiet from 1am to 5am?
Too much to ask?
Who just has to depart at 215am Sunday?

[BillyGBob]

Ask the cargo carriers. The 2 - 3 a.m. flights appear to be westbound 747 freighters.

[Peter Garrison]

2:40 am: Stunningly quiet. Could hear our owl hooting. Wonderful.

[resident]

1:22 am and just loud as can be. How is this legal?

[Peter Garrison]

Like most abuse, it happens slowly, by stages. No problem with airport noise, just airport noise all night long. Has to be injurious to people’s health.

Twenty years from now people won’t believe this was allowed- like our past in allowing smoking on airplanes...

[Mike]

This is why we had to move away. Been to the meetings, posted signs, filed suits, did the monitoring etc... SFO personnel were trying to convince us that nothing had changed and suggested that we did. The monitoring only captures the noise and not the vibrations/waves that are the most harmful. I have lived my whole life in Burlingame and after 45 years we had to say goodbye. I hope someday that something will actually come from all these efforts. We tried for as long as we could, but our health became a REAL concern. I also couldn't deal with all the HATERS (ie: HollyRoller) that would say "you live near an airport, so deal with it". Good luck!

[Joe]

Mike, your decision to leave makes me sad. I get it and I don't blame you, but it makes me sad. Would it be OK with you if I share your comment with the judge this coming Tuesday in court?

[Joe]

Here is an excellent news update from SFOrunwaynoise.com about the Airport Roundtable meeting that came after the sub-committee meeting described in the original post:

GENERAL SFO ROUNDTABLE MEETING 12/4/19
• The most important point at this meeting was that Kathleen Wentworth (retired United Pilot working with Jackie Speier’s office) surprised us by announcing that Congresswoman Speier has introduced EIGHT pieces of legislation aimed at helping communities address AND CHANGE noise issues that affect them. Currently, curfews, flight paths, number of flights, etc. are all under the control of the FAA and there is no way for an impacted community to bring about change or force SFO or the FAA to negotiate policies that affect surrounding neighborhoods.
• Passage of any of these bills would be beneficial for all of us, as well as for the thousands of Americans across the country who are fighting similar issues with their airports. If passed, this legislation would give the public the ‘teeth’ to get something done. Please let Congresswoman Speier know that you appreciate her efforts on our behalf by contacting her office. While there are 8 bills, HR 5112, the LEAVE Act, specifically addresses GBN:

"As an airplane leaves from an airport, its takeoff generates significant amounts of ground based low-frequency noise and vibration impacting residents in the vicinity. While measurement, standards, and mitigation of airborne flight noise is well defined, low frequency noise and vibration caused by an airplane on the runway at high thrust levels accelerating for take-off is not yet established. The bill would lead to the establishment of standards and remedies related to ground-based noise (GBN}.

If enacted, the bill would permit a state cause of action for GBN if a state has undertaken a study of GBN at an airport, determined the amount of GBN, and identified a level of substantial negative impact and any diminution in real property values caused by such GBN. Before a cause of action would be permissible:

a. the state must complete a study of ground-based noise at the airport in question
b. the state must set a limit for ground-based noise emanating from the airport
c. the airport would have to be shown to have exceeded that limit"

[Pat T.]

A Dutch approach to the problem: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/out-of-left-fields-dutch-land-art-installation-cuts-area-airplane-noise-in-half Probably doesn't apply directly to the Peninsula, but good to know there are others looking for solutions.