THURSDAY THOUGHTS: NOISE IN THE HOOD

When you live in the city, there are some things you expect. 

There are things with which, you learn to live. 

Noise is one of them. 

You get used to ambulance sirens, and police sirens (the annoying whoomp-whoomp-WHOOMP and the clucking-chicken-on-steroids sounds, seem to be new).
There are car horns of all kinds, motor vehicles speeding, screeching brakes, sounds of impact, sanitation trucks, motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, lawn mowers, weed whackers, construction machinery, and buses (that announce stops). 

Every now and then, the birds sound as if there's conflict in Birdland, and their songs aren't as sweet. 

There are dogs, big and small, barking at squirrels and people. 

There's the occasional helicopter scanning the terrain for the latest hiding/fleeing criminal. 

It's not pleasant, but one deals with it.

On the other hand, there's imposed noise. 

It's getting warmer now, and with car windows open, and tops down, drivers insist that you, too, enjoy their favorite song(s). 

It's not required that you be the car with them, or walking down the street as they pass by. You're in your house or apartment behind bricks, wood, mortar and glass (trying to flee from the muffled, repetitious, sometimes profanity-laced drivel that is passing as music these days). It sounds good to the driver, and for some reason, drivers believe they are doing a service to everyone by demonstrating the power and might of their stereo's bass. 

You can see the defiance and arrogance on their faces. 

They WANT you to look. 

They want you to say something. 

They have a right to play their music as loudly as they please, they reason, but they don't seem to care that they're riding through a residential neighborhood where, maybe, senior citizens, exhausted employees, sleeping babies, or studying children live.

There are the occasional loud people, who yell out of windows what they forgot to say when the listener was next to them. 

There are those who can't wait until they are closer on the sidewalk to the people they want to talk to, so their shrill voices pierce through the peace like a sledgehammer. 

There is the gleeful sound of kids on the way to, or coming home from school; the person/people yelling for the bus to wait; political motorcades complete with PA systems. (I wonder if it occurs to them that no one understands a thing they're yelling as they cruise through the neighborhood?)

If you live near a park, like I do, there are the impromptu picnics and permitted events, complete with unreasonably amplified music that lets you know your rattling windowpanes are useless. 

The noise goes on for hours into the night. Even if it WAS your favorite music, it would still be inappropriate in it's rudeness. 

Residents now know that they either have to reluctantly join the noisy picnic/event, find earplugs, or flee the area altogether until such time as the police are authorized to enforce noise ordinance laws.

Do people just not care how what they do or decide affects the lives of others? Somehow, the whole idea of exercising one's rights is missing a piece. When you infringe upon the rights of others, you have gone from exercising your rights to being an abusive, thoughtless bully. 

People with no voice, or who are too fearful, discouraged, or frustrated to use it, are usually the recipients of the bullying. If they dare to speak up, they're usually reviled for complaining, given unreasonable alternatives, or ignored altogether. 

Does a community have the right to enjoy peace and quiet?

Finally, there's noise, the level of which is, apparently, nearly impossible to regulate or abate: AIR TRAFFIC. 

Specifically, the late night variety is the worst offender of all. 

Yes. Planes have to fly somewhere, but when the decision is made to re-route them, it can be a bit of a shock for people who have enjoyed a reasonable amount of quiet in their neighborhoods. 

For almost a year, my neighborhood has endured a nightly show. Somehow, it's not so bad during the day. You sense the rumbling as if a monster train is approaching, but it just blends with the rest of the city sounds. In the words of Dr. Seuss, "it starts in low and then it starts to grow", but then as quickly as it came, it's gone, and the quiet resumes until the next plane approaches. 

At night, however, and into the wee hours of the morning, the noise is extremely unsettling. It is amplified. It has a presence. It's alive--all the way LIVE. There is nothing to buffer it. There's a sense that something humongous is barreling down on you, and you just can't get out of the way.

For the last year or so, late night flights headed to Washington Reagan National Airport have been flying directly over the residential neighborhoods of Bellevue and Washington Highlands in SW DC, Forest Heights, Maryland, and Arlington. On or about 10:30 PM, the air parade becomes more noticeable. The latest of flights (or earliest depending on your attitude ), thunders through at close to 2 A.M.

I don't know whose idea it was to change the flight path so that it sends planes over populated neighborhoods. I don't know who, in order to justify the action, honestly thinks arriving planes aren't as loud as departing ones.

I fly frequently, so I do understand the need for safety, especially when it comes to infrastructure that is overdue for repair or replacement. It's not my patience with the project that is wearing thin, but the resulting noise. My patience is being tested and extended. As each month passed last year and the noise increased, I didn't want to see it all as a racial or economic issue. I didn't want to think that somewhere in a conference room, people concluded that Ward 8 wouldn't mind, didn't care, weren't informed, didn't deserve consideration, or wouldn't have the political muscle necessary to speak up for itself when the noise became unbearable.

I decided to enlist the help of Google maps to see whether another alternative was viable. I am neither an aviator, surveyor, physicist, nor engineer, but I just wanted to see if up above my head ,and the heads of my neighbors was the only way. 

Why couldn't the jets fly over the old Oxon Hill Farm, SE/SW freeway, cruise over the Potomac and hook a quick left to the runway? Did they HAVE to fly directly over residential areas-- and so low that you can almost see what movie the passengers are watching?

After locating runway 15/33 on the map, then locating my condo community, I used a straight edge and saw the perfectly diagonal line. I see that someone, who probably isn't affected by the noise, had to make a decision. Was it tough, well thought out, and agonizing, or was it quick and cavalier-- in a manner that further demonstrates how Ward 8 and the quality of life there is viewed? 

All of that aside, in order to glide smoothly onto runway 15/33 with no turns, or circling, pilots flying planes coming in from the south probably prefer to fly over Bellevue.

I know now why it seems as if I could touch the under belly of each jet. It makes sense now why, every night, I hope and pray I don't hear a tremendous explosion. The jets are flying extremely fast and low. You can see them coming as they fly over Eastover Shopping Center, and they really do look as if they're coming right at you. Even if you're not glued to your window, you can still see the flashes of light, and the looming shadows. Even with headphones activated, the roaring and rumbling noise of the engines rip through the night air, and you can literally FEEL it. Every time I see a new crack on the wall or ceiling, I wonder.

Noise is inconvenient, but one person's noise is the sound of progress to another. When I fly into DCA, or when anyone does, I would love to know, and I'm sure that other passengers would too, that pilots can land smoothly and safely with as little maneuvering as possible. 

To ensure it, that means repairs and construction and that means noise.

It's almost May again. It's been almost a year since I read the first article forewarning area residents about the noise. It's been 3 months since I read the last article indicating that DC Representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton's office was made aware. Apparently, between May and December residents spoke up. Facetiousness aside, I honestly do believe that the resolution of the complaints was that SE/SW DC would bear with the lion's share of the noise. On some nights, I've counted up to 12 incoming flights.

One can appeal to others for understanding and mercy, I suppose, but as of last night, the answer seems to have been, "No. Remind them that they live in the city. Tell them to stop their whining and get over it, or move. They'll just have to deal with the noise until the work is done."

Hopefully, runway 1/19 will be brand spanking new very soon, and the big birds can give sleep deprived Bellevue a break. 

Here's to progress, and pillows and headphones, and warm milk (and Nyquil if you fancy it).

http://www.arlnow.com/2011/05/17/dca-runway-work-may-direct-more-planes-over-arlington/

http://www.arlnow.com/2011/12/21/scaled-back-airport-construction-hours-may-relieve-neighborhood-noise/

http://www.mwaa.com/reagan/3925.htm

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/late-night-flights-over-southeast-dc-and-forest-heights-md-causing-noise-for-residents-121911

http://www.norton.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3088:norton-asks-faa-to-revisit-late-night-flight-policies-during-construction-at-reagan-airport-&catid=2

http://www.metwashairports.com/reagan/2544.htm