"Residents, Nonprofit Conduct Study of Noise From Airplanes Passing Over DCA"

Sunday, October 15, 2006

In the Palisades, Everything But Clear Skies
Residents, Nonprofit Conduct Study of Noise From Airplanes Passing Over
By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
The Washington (DC) Post


Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, residents of the Palisades neighborhood
in northwest D.C. look skyward. With clipboards in hand, they meticulously
rate the noise levels of airplanes flying over their homes on the way to
nearby Reagan National Airport.

They mark an option for each aircraft -- "less loud" than usual, "normal" or
"louder." They hope their notations will convey, to regional and federal
agencies, what it is like to live in a community where the house windows
sometimes rattle in sync with the commercial-jet engines overhead.

"Just this morning, at 6 o'clock, I heard an aircraft fly over my house and
I said, 'It's time to get up,' " said Spence Spencer, president of the
Palisades Citizens Association, which is conducting a six-week study with
the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

About 700 flights take off from and land at National Airport each day,
according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Half fly over
the Palisades.

On clear days, when visibility is good, aircraft bound for National operate
under visual flight rules, basically following the Potomac River route and
avoiding flying over neighborhoods such as the Palisades, FAA spokesman Paul
Takemoto said. On overcast days, they fly under instrument flight rules and
often have to end up over homes.

"We are very sensitive to noise issues, but our main concern is safety and
you can't have aircraft snake their way up the river when they can't see the
river," Takemoto said.

Palisades residents say they understand that, but they also think that new
technology, based on a global positioning system approach, could keep the
aircraft over the river in good weather and bad. The community, between
Chain Bridge and Key Bridge, with an estimated 3,000 households, big shade
trees and unique, old homes, has been involved in noise-abatement issues for
many years.

"First of all, we are not trying to close down National Airport," said Stu
Ross, past president of the citizens association. "What we're trying to do
is find the best scientific way to manage noise. There are a couple of ways
you can do this -- one is quieter engines, obviously, and the other is
patterns pilots may fly when landing."

Coexisting with airport noise is one of the continuing predicaments of
modern American life. Recent airport expansions, like those at San Francisco
and Minneapolis-St. Paul, produced a storm of new protesters. As daily
flights have increased and once-sleepy airports have grown, more residents
and citizens groups across the country have begun pushing for better noise
control.

"The problem is that the number of takeoffs and landings have increased
faster than airplanes are getting quieter, and the times of takeoffs and
landings are spreading into more vulnerable times of day, into early morning
and late evening when people are sleeping," said Les Blomberg, director of
the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse in Montpelier, Vt.

Palisades residents only complain about aircraft noise to a point. They knew
what they were getting into when they moved into the neighborhood northwest
of Georgetown, but the charm of the area bowled them over. In a mayor's
proclamation that celebrated Palisades Day in May 2005, the community was
described as "a small town in the big city, composed of an eclectic mix of
citizens of all backgrounds committed to making our city a better place to
live and work," and "a treasure of green spaces, quiet streets, high bluffs
and breathtaking sunsets." The Palisades also has become known for its
annual Fourth of July parade.

"I don't know anyone who's ever moved out or didn't buy a house here because
of" the planes, said Ross, an attorney who moved to the Palisades 26 years
ago and now lives in "an old boardinghouse" there. "You get used to it.
Everyone benefits from how close National is to us. It's just one of those
things you kind of put up with."

For about an eight-month period after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
noise levels in the Palisades reached new heights, residents said, when all
arrivals had to pass over the neighborhood for security reasons. Use of the
river route was later resumed.

Mat Thorp, a retired aerospace-industry executive who often is described as
the unofficial mayor of the Palisades, is leading the noise-control effort.
The 44-year resident of the neighborhood said he was struck by the loudness
of passing aircraft when he viewed a video of his wife's memorial service
that he held on his patio, and often could not understand what was being
said because of engine noise.

As families in the Palisades and surrounding areas pull out the clipboards
each weekend for the survey, Thorp is curious to know whether they can
distinguish the quieter sounds of one airline. About a year ago, Alaska
Airlines became the first U.S. carrier at National to use something called
Required Navigation Performance, which uses the GPS satellite network to
remain on course over the river.

The technology was developed in the 1990s for "some of the more challenging
airports in Alaska," due to weather and terrain, an Alaska Airlines
spokeswoman said. The airline is now expanding its use to other areas.

Four years ago, officials with the regional airports authority undertook an
exhaustive study of noise control around National that has been turned over
to the Federal Aviation Administration for review. They agree with Palisades
residents that new technology "has provided a way for us to address a
critical issue," said Jonathan Gaffney, an airports authority spokesman,
adding, "Everybody's on the same page."

Official complaints about noise at National Airport are surprisingly few,
with only about 40 this year, said Neal Phillips, noise-abatement manager
for the authority.

Rob Krupicka, who chairs the aviation policy committee with the Washington
council of governments, said he is interested in seeing the results of the
Palisades survey and hopes residents in other neighborhoods eventually will
join the effort. "We'll let [the Palisades] try it first and see what
happens and expand it from there," said Krupicka, an Alexandria City Council
member.

Ross said he realizes that even the best citizen efforts and the most
sincere government responses can only go so far to solve the problem. It may
never really be quiet in the Palisades.

"Oddly enough, the loudest thing we get is presidential helicopters," he
said, describing the powerful motors and low approach. "Usually on Friday
evenings or Sunday afternoons, you hear them coming down, and if you have
folks around, you say, 'There goes the president.' "

Attached Photo:

The Palisades Community Association is organizing residents to rate
air-traffic noise from Reagan National Airport as part of a six-week study.

PH2006101400867.jpg