Airplane noise concerns overblown?
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Anonymous
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There’s something called the National Transportation Noise Map. You could look up any area you want nationwide by the type of traffic: planes, cars, trains, plains and cars combined. It’s an interesting little tool that seems to confirm some of the opinions expressed here. For example:
As it turns out, people claiming the city streets are noisier than the flight path areas would be wrong. Planes are worse by a wide margin. In DC, for both the plane noise and combined plane/car noise, the Palisades and Foxhall are by far the noisiest (red color, which is better than say DCA itself which is purple), and then it gets progressively better going NE, cycling through the orange and then yellow which includes the Wesley Heights, Glover Park, Dupont Circle. The quietest areas for the combined noise WOTP are Woodley Park (quieter than even the Observatory Circle areas), parts of Cleveland Park and Forest Hills. These areas also don’t get any plane noise. The red areas exceed the DC noise regulations. Obviously on road noise alone, Palisades and Foxhall do very well, which I think demonstrates just what a big deal the plane noise has become. Anyway, you can look up anywhere in the US. Also can interpret the data as you think makes more sense. The only issue is that the data are a few years old (2018), but we know that outside of the pandemic period, plane and car noise have generally increased, so still valid. The worst of the plane noise in DC does seem more concentrated in 2018 than 2016 over a smaller area. (We do know from the posters here that some farther in areas in MoCo have been more affected since this data was posted). |
Anonymous
That fact that they don’t have the balls to take real decibel readings in Bethesda is telling. Put the device on top of every school, especially the ones up on hills, and report back. Simulated decibel studies are BS, as are ones from a boat on the river. Do the actual tests. What are the lawyers waiting for? |
Anonymous
| There is now also the 2020 transport noise map data but it needs to be downloaded. I’m also not sure how accurate b/c the pandemic reduction in transport. 2022 data should be ready by 2024. I think the 2018 data is sufficiently instructive, but to the PP’s point could well be underestimating the plane noise. Certainly while it shows the average noise adjusted to what humans hear in the Palisades being about 55-59 dB (average), plane noise regularly measured +15-20 experimentally. |
Anonymous
| OP, the answer is a big fat NO |
Anonymous
Until they put the decibel boxes everywhere under the concentrated nextgen flight path, their experimental, simulated, adjusted and instructive decimal guesses are fictional. |
Anonymous
| Decibel |
Anonymous
| In your experience, is it better or worse then? It’s apparently a daily average based on average flights/traffic so that would include a few hours of relative quiet in the middle of the night. |
Anonymous
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I had a coworker who had two maternity leaves straddle the change and she totally noticed the noise level spike and could see it too, since she was home three months.
She also noticed it again post Covid shutdowns as DCA and flying ramped back up. I believe she said she has to sleep with ear plugs now given the noise wakes her early, and that the kids are older and don’t need checking on. |
Anonymous
It’s sounds illegally loud to me at the pool. Who approves this krap, just go back to following the River, not divebombing neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
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Columbia University study conclusions: Despite increases in efficiency, flight automation systems without a careful assessment of noise might generate flight paths over densely populated areas and cause serious health conditions for the overflown communities.
(“NextGen holds great potential for improving our lives. However, it also appears to produce an increase in disability and death, at least in New York City.”) |
Anonymous
| How does one get involved in the anti-noise groups? What can we do to help? |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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There’s an upcoming community meeting, see more here:
https://dca.nowgen.net/events/ |
Anonymous
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If you click on the the DCA Community Complaint Dashboard there’s a nice color-coded map of where people complain the most and why. It’s not exactly nothing to take the time to submit a complaint, so you can imagine people do it because it’s too much. DC noise really goes Palisades through the Wesley Heights, then the areas from there don’t have the noise issue. It also shows other areas planes affect that posters here highlighted in MoCo that you wouldn’t see on the other maps. You can also complain if you experience the plane noise which is very helpful to the community action.
https://www.flyreagan.com/about-airport/aircraft-noise-information/dca-reagan-national-complaint-dashboard |