Loud noises!

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

Airplane noise is up 3X in Davis area this year. This is confirmed by Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) and our mayor. You may or may not have read the articles in the news. Both STEP and our mayor have encouraged people who are annoyed by the noise, to call this number and complain:

(617) 561-3333

Here is some more info:

http://www.somervillestep.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=logan

The more people that call and complain the better chance we have in getting a reduction in overhead flights (so we're told).

If you don't care about the increase, or don't care about planes flying by every 40 seconds, please read all of the witty responses below instead.

Comments

[cutieyum.livejournal.com]

We at East Arlington have been hearing them too. I work from home, and it has been non-stop in the morning...

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

Same here. I'm in a meeting over the phone and I can't even hear what's going on.

[cutieyum.livejournal.com]

Uhmmm... solution to sound pollution and disillusion with my home town of 8 years (no more Someday Cafe, different crowd, need more space for my $$, etc.), move to Bolton and learning to drive. :)

[cutieperson]

clearly you missed the last many debates on this topic.

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't miss any debates on this. There's no LJ tag for loud plane noises, or for the phone # that I'm looking for.

[overstim.livejournal.com]

planes have to take off in a certain direction according to the weather conditions. Theyre not going to stop if every hipster in Davis complains every hour on the hour. Buy some headphones and suck it up, progress marches on! :)

[billharnois.livejournal.com]

Then I guess our Mayor was lying when he said that we should call and complain? He clearly said calling raises awareness and will help stop or reduce the amount of planes going by.

This is a new problem to Somerville. We didn't choose to live in Winthrop where this is expected. If the weather is bad, then the people flying should have to wait.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I Can't help but think... "wah, wah, wah." I'm sorry.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

I'm not sorry.

[ifotismeni]

eh, yea, this came up a while ago and a bunch of us complained. i wrote a complaint in to logan and about a month later i get this really fat envelope from them -- a letter replete with weather pattern pictures and lengthy explanations about rerouting plane flights when winds come from a certain direction.

i've been noticing the noise too but it's really intermittent. certainly it was kind of bad yesterday but otherwise we go at least a week or more with no noticeable noise.

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

ok, that is awesome.

[agreeleyo.livejournal.com]

Search google for "loud plane noise somerville" and you will find plenty of editorials on plane noise.

"For now, both Curtatone and Port Authority officials are asking residents disturbed by planes flying overhead to record their complaints. Curtatone asked citizens to call the city’s 311 line while Leo said people should call the Port Authority’s noise complaint line at (617) 561-3333." (From the Somerville News)

Now to answer your question - call the city help line (311)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

The article from the Somerville Journal with the mayor encouraging people to report plane noise:
http://www.townonline.com/somerville/homepage/x1087978235

A July post on LJ about plane noise:
http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/888724.html

Re: Now to answer your question - call the city help line (311)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

"If possible, callers should provide information that includes the date and time of the incident, the viewer’s location, the duration of the noise, any identifying information about the aircraft, and any indication of whether the aircraft seemed unusually low, was taking off or landing, etc."

[jenaflynn.livejournal.com]

I noticed it too this morning, and honestly, being sept 12th, it creeped me out just a little bit. (Thought something bad was up.)

Although having previously lived in Wisconsin, you almost never heard planes overhead.. But then again, it was also a cultural blackhole.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

the creepiest part of sep 12 "when it happened" was that there was NO air traffic at all, i was on the beach, and it was QUIET. just waves.

#

OMG!! Flight controller transcripts discovered!

[spatch]

TOWER: Delta 889, you are cleared for takeoff on Runway 2, follow takeoff pattern XG-18, over.

DELTA 889: Tower, that runway and pattern do not follow with our actual flight path and destination, are you certain we're to take this? Over.

TOWER: Delta 889, please be advised that billharnois has been complaining about us on LiveJournal and we've had to alter patterns accordingly, over.

DELTA 889: Tower, this pattern takes us directly over Davis Square, is this correct? Over.

TOWER: Roger, Delta 889, we're routing all planes over his house now just to piss him off, over.

DELTA 889: Roger that, Tower. Good one, over.

TOWER: Delta 889, yeah, we thought it'd be worth a few lulz today. Just wait til he posts again, over.

Re: OMG!! Flight controller transcripts discovered!

[ericjay.livejournal.com]

I'd pay money to hear "Epic LULZ" on an Air Traffic Control recording!

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

*crackle* flight 242 delayed because buttercup over in davis isn't awake yet, and needs their sleep.

*crackle* incoming flight 900 from osaka has been delayed due to godzilla, superman en route

*crackle* that is all

well, the NIMBYs in brookline/boston probably have more sway, and planes just won't bug them... so they send them elsewhere...

apparently, due to "weird unseasonal" wind patterns, the planes have to take off in other directions, usually INTO the wind. so if the wind is blowing to the airport from medford, somerville, or buttercup had too many beans, the planes go where they go. in an ideal world, they'd take off into a nice ocean breeze, and never go over the city.

so please, stop buttercup from eating beans.

#

The MBTA too!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I just moved to Boston Ave. near Ball Sq., and I want to complain about the loud noise of the MBTA commuter trains running behind my house.

Re: The MBTA too!

[lulubloom.livejournal.com]

You're joking, right? I'm pretty sure they didn't just build it the night after you moved in... it wasn't like SURPRISE, THERE'S RAILROAD TRACKS NEAR MY HOUSE. Living in a city, you get used to the noises. I live right on a main stretch near hospitals and have gotten used to all the sirens at all hours of the night. I'm not going to ring the bloody hospital and say

"Listen, I know you're saving lives, but really? It's interfering with my sleep schedule, so could you just have them take the roads that don't run next to my house? Oh, you mean they could die cause it will take loads longer? Well, at least I'll get to sleep."

IDK sarcasm doesn't translate over the internet particularly well, but if you're serious, you're shit out of luck.

[obie119.livejournal.com]

This is not a new flight path - it's been going on at least since '01. It occurs with changes of weather and fronts coming in.

I found out recently that Logan will do their best to alter flight patterns for special events - they do have a list of shows at the BOA Pavilion, for example. But, with a front coming in, all bets are off and they move the flight patterns where they need to go.

[catullus-5.livejournal.com]

This is actually a longstanding classic problem in political philosophy. How much is one really justified in complaining about pollution and other things?

Suppose cars drive by my house and wake me up. Do I have the right to ask the mayor to put a low speed limit on my street? Maybe ban cars altogether? How much can I be accomodated before the other drivers are being treated unjustly?

Planes are flying overhead. Do I have the right to ban planes in a five-mile radius? Twenty? Fifty? At what point am I offending the rights of air travelers and airlines?

Can I sue people for shining lasers into my bedroom? Can I petition the mayor to prevent car headlights from doing the same? How about glare from shiny hoods and windshields?

Can I call the cops if naked people are standing on the street in front of my house? How about clothed people giving me the finger? How about (gasp) a same-sex couple holding hands in front of my kids? Who and what determines which offensive displays, if any, I can force to stop?

There are as many different opinions on questions like these as there are people who consider them. Some people attempt to devise limited sets of premises in the hopes that a consistent, just, and comprehensive set of rules can be derived from them. Others take a utilitarian angle, or case-by-case consideration, or go with a gut feeling. Like I said, it's a classic problem. But personally, I would say you live in an urban environment so suck it up and deal with the fact that most urban environments have airports nearby.

[nandy-pandy.livejournal.com]

I don't think your earth logic is going to go over well.

[ron_newman]

I live on Day Street, in the flatlands, and have never noticed this problem. Is it worse if you live on one of the hills?

[ron_newman]

A reasonable question to ask may be: can the planes' flight paths be changed so that they take off and land more steeply than they do now?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

No.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that the desired result of complainers is that logan re-route air traffic. Could enough real pressure be applied to Logan, State, and Local governments to enact some legislation requiring a move to quieter planes?

[mkb-technologie.livejournal.com]

LAX has limits on what times planes can land because of noise ordinances, so possibly, Logan's acceptance of louder planes landing at particular times could be curtailed.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

We live about 2 miles by air from a major international airport. Suck it up. If you don't like airplane noise, move away from the airport.

[whitefire.livejournal.com]

"If the weather is bad, then the people flying should have to wait."

Flown much?

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

For real. Talk to me about noise after hour 6 of napping on Logan's floor waiting for a flight.

Translating the OP

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I read this a few times (it was featured in both stupid_free and b0st0n_snark, I was finally able to translate it.

Wow, lots of responses. I don't have time to read/answer everyone's individual questions so I'll post some legit info here.

I'm sick of everyone wanking on me so I've given up on actually reading the comments. I'll edit this post because I have to have the last word since I am never wrong and certainly not self-righteous - and just bahleet anything further from my inbox in what is eseentially a butthurt flounce.

Airplane noise is up 3X in Davis area this year. This is confirmed by Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) and our mayor. You may or may not have read the articles in the news. Both STEP and our mayor have encouraged people who are annoyed by the noise, to call this number and complain:
(617) 561-3333
Here is some more info:
http://www.somervillestep.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?search=logan


I realize that there are probably a handful of individuals who, like me, believe that they too are the only human beings in this teeming metropolis of ours and agree that any and all action must be taken against this horrible conspiracy of the airlines to make money and attempt to ensure that their customers are satisfied. So, since I've flounced, for those of you who know I'm right, this is where you go to back me up and demand that the very special minority be held in the highest esteem and get our way to inconvenince anyone contributing to the airline conspiracy around the world by paying for air travel.

If you don't care about the increase, or don't care about planes flying by every 40 seconds, please read all of the witty responses below instead.

If you disagree with me, feel free to comment because I am no longer reading this thread and regret making this post. I am also not witty enough to justify my complaints, nor am I witty enough to hold my own when the majority of this community wrongfully attacks my logic.

I was raised to get my way and I don't care if you agree with me or not. I won't rest until this entire city is so quiet you can hear a pin drop in Mattapan.

[flouncey flouncey flounce]

Re: Translating the OP

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

*snerk* And he didn't even have the courtesy of thanking me for looking up that URL, after commenting that he didn't have the time to do it himself! (Not that I think it helps his case any, but I was curious about the actual so-called evidence.) Of all the nerve.

[pullmeunder.livejournal.com]

Instead of complaining about all the planes and noise out of Logan, why not do something more proactive? If most of the short trips out of Logan (Boston-NYC, Boston-Portland(ME), etc etc) were eliminated because of drastic improvements to Amtrak, there would be less plane noise. Why not work towards a better railroad system instead?