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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm so sick of working until 10 pm, then being kept awake by air traffic including helicopters, and then awakened again at 6 am.

I'm ready to join a letter-writing brigade or lead petitions.  I'm ready to become a one-issue voter over this.  They need a different solution, including just limiting the number of flights allowed to take off and land at DCA.

--Exhausted all the time in Bethesda[/quote]

Most of Bethesda has been impacted negatively by the recent changes in flight paths pushed through without any community input by the people on the DCA Noise Working Group.

All the noise abatement work in MoCo over the last 5 years was focused solely on one small area of Potomac and C.J. because all four MoCo seats on the DCA Working Group were filled by people from that area. They succeeded in eliminating all the departures and a large number of arrivals from Potomac by pushing departures south and closer to Bethesda neighborhoods south east of Glen Echo and diverting many arrivals to the Seven Locks Road corridor and the MacArthur Road corridor.

They don't appear to have any interest for now in bringing relief to other communities in MoCo by advocating for a better balance between southflow and northflow operations because it is not benefiting their community.

The FAA uses northflow as a default procedure, often irrespective of the direction of the winds. Hence a steady flow of jets taking off in the same direction to the North day after day.  In the past, community members and other representatives on the DCA Working Group tried to address this problem with the FAA, but MoCo reps get a fit every time somebody mentions it.

So, reach out to your County representatives on the DCA Community Working Group and tell them you want them to advocate for your neighborhood by asking the FAA to create a better balance between southflow and northflow operations. It is unlikely you will get a response but if you do, post it here. There are two County officials on that committee and both of them are theoretically supposed to work for all communities in Montgomery County. If you do not get a response, contact the County Council and the Office of Marc Elrich and let them know.

The DCA Community Working Group is meeting with the FAA at the end of January.[/quote]

Above may be largely true to some degree but I don’t think it is just because “four MoCo seats on the DCA Working Group were filled by people from that area.” Also before the pandemic, air traffic had been rerouted along the river so river communities were disproportionately impacted by increased air traffic often flying lower than before. Many CJ and Glen Echo residents were involved in the fight to reduce the sudden dramatic rise in air traffic

Cabin John citizen association has been working on this issue for many years. They voted to join the Montgomery County Quiet Skies Coalition in 2017. However, a later update in 2021 showed that many of their suggestions were not agreed upon by FAA  - so I doubt that it is a matter of the DCA Working Group not caring about the well being of other nearby communities.

https://cabinjohn.org/index.php/2017/02/23/take-action-against-excessive-airplane-noise/

Residents were encouraged to file complaints using the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s (MWAA) DCA Noise Complaint Form. And to Write letters supporting the Reagan National Community Noise Working Group’s 6-point Plan The community representatives of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Many local residents got involved.

Specifically, CJ residents asked the FAA to
- move navigation waypoints away from communities
- increase departure altitudes
- implement a runway rotation plan to scatter departure noise more equitably
- review approach procedures to determine changes necessary to reduce noise
- conduct area-wide noise assessment studies
- implement a 24/7 Fly Quiet Program

These measures were not just to help CJ and river communities but all impacted communities.

Although this battle has escalated in recent years, it is not new. 
[b]WoPo wrote an article on CJ residents fighting airplane noice nearly 50 years ago[/b] 
https://wapo.st/40cK8PY

[/quote]

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