Speier: Bay Area must combat dangerous effects of airport noise
JACKIE SPEIER | D – San Mateo, represents the 14th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
PUBLISHED: December 20, 2019 at 6:10 am | UPDATED: December 20, 2019 at 6:26 am
It’s easy to be dismissive of airport noise as a serious problem. After all, electing to live near an airport involves tradeoffs. But over the last 16 years, the number of flights at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has increased by 33 percent, to the point that people are no longer able to sleep, sit outside in their backyards, have conversations, or even think straight without being bombarded by ear-shattering and ground-shaking decibels from the whine of airplane engines.
The incomprehensible shift of some flights into more concentrated paths over San Francisco and the Peninsula instead of the ocean means that the intensity of overflights is magnified. Some residents are reporting flights every 90 seconds. The horror stories that constituents regularly share with me include constant sleepless nights and homes rattling and shaking as though being hit by small earthquakes. Even opening a window for fresh air is no longer an option for some people in the region.
What’s even more frustrating…