Airplane noise: neighbors mad.

[mem_winterhill]

I attended that semi-impromptu meeting in Medford the other night, that I heard about at the last minute. Since it was at the bottom of Main St it was easy for me to get to. It ran from about 7-9:30pm, and about 80 people turned up for this. They mad.

Presented by a couple of Medford volunteers who have been monitoring airplane noise for a long time, it was a very helpful overview of the issues and an attempt to drum up support for some actions we need to take. They had done the presentation earlier this summer and the summary of that can be found on the city of Medford's website here: Aircraft Noise Update, June 7, 2017.

I'm going to relay what I gathered from this meeting. Note that aviation is not my field, and some details may be flawed. It will be a little long, so I'm going to put the rest below the cut for the ease of reading on mobile. Click the "more" for the rest of the details.

If you live near Winter Hill, I'm sure you've noticed the increase in airplane noise this summer. The current problem is that an ongoing runway repair means that the 33L runway is being used a lot more than it typically would be. The technical reason for this is that pilots need to use a "waypoint", which is something like a boat would use a buoy, that they have to aim towards and then curve off to their subsequent steps in their flight plans (as I understand it).

The official "waypoint" that is the first one off the runway is called TEKKK, which is located just over the river in Medford. The image I got from this Belmont document made before the current issues illustrates that. See--pilots have to get to TEKKK and then make turns. So this is why we get to see and hear so much of that these days.

So although we have a current acute problem because of this runway repair (which is scheduled to go until November), the guys who presented this also noted that the number of flights has been increasing over the years. And it could increase more with additional traffic. Larger planes. Weather pattern issues. Etc.

Another factor could be development. If buildings around us are permitted to go above a certain height, this can affect the flight patterns of planes. This could send more of them into a route (such as over Somerville). This is why the current drama over the Millennium Partners development is news.

Even if the runway repairs decrease our current problem--we need to be staying on this because it won't go away. And we need to align with other communities and groups on this to keep the pressure on the MassPort/FAA.

There are a couple of data assessment and data collection actions going on right now. Apparently there is an MIT study underway about noise and mitigation. Part of that data has come out, some is still underway. Details of that project are found here: Analytical Approach for Quantifying Noise from Advanced Operational Procedures.

The presenters at this meeting--Luke and Peter--also described a citizen science style effort to collect noise data. They got a noise detector and mounted it on the Andrews School in Medford (referenced in the Medford link above). This is right where the TEKKK is. They want to have data to back up the noise issues we face. At some point they would like to open this project up to data analysis by citizens who can help match flights with noise level data. I'll keep you posted if I hear about that.

They also recommended that we align with local activists who are already on this issue. There is a group called Boston West Fair Skies that deals with these mattters. If you are interested, sign up for their mailing list and keep an eye on their activities.

Also: file noise complaints. Right on Somerville city's homepage there's a handy button. It is a drag, of course, do to this. But it matters. I liked the web form, but you can also call. But they do monitor how many complaints come in, and how many individual households do. So even 1 new call helps us increase the number of concerned residents in an area. Check recent data--Medford is kicking our butt in calls. See the "complaints by town" data. Here's July for example (PDF).

Of course, calls of concern to our public officials--especially in an election cycle--are wise. But do also file at least one complaint when you are irked, please.

There's also an especially hellish flight--apparently ~5 times a week a Cathay Pacific flight that's enormous leaves around 2-3am. Pilots could take off over water when weather conditions permit--but they may choose not to. We can also call Cathay Pacific and tell them that the pilots should be strongly encouraged to take off over water. But also file that complain to Massport.

That's what I know. I'll keep monitoring the Boston West Fair Skies group and let you know about other meetings or actions. But if this is an issue you are interested in, please do so as well. The more of us on this, the better for our quality of life here in the 'Ville.

Comments

[mem_winterhill]

Just wanted to add this to the information that we have on community issues with noise--this is the other side of Boston: http://www.universalhub.com/2017/plane-truth-roslindale-and-surrounding