Background

New SFO Control Tower
New SFO Control Tower

In recent months, SFO has re-rerouted virtually all of its flights (except for some coming from the East) over Palo Alto. Whichever direction these flights may come from, SFO-bound planes now fly most frequently over the Crescent Park area of Palo Alto before crossing into their final approach to SFO.

West Flow Aircraft Traffic Plan
Pre-NextGen West Flow Aircraft Traffic

This means that over the past 4-6 months, when these changes were put into effect, we have had increasing disturbances of loud, low-flying aircraft during the day and night. These loud noises are especially disturbing in the evening and early morning hours when we are watching TV or trying to sleep. These are loud enough that on warm evenings with our windows open, we can’t hear our TV while the planes fly over. On colder winter nights, they awaken us from sleep, even with closed double-pane windows.

Following a complaint I filed with SFO, I received a packet of data from David Ong, SFO Noise Systems Manager in the Aircraft Noise Abatement Office. The whole packet is lengthy so I extracted a few pages to illustrate what I think the problem is.

31 Tevis Pl in relation to SFO
31 Tevis Pl in relation to SFO
Flight Activities for SFO, May 12, 2015
Flight Activities for SFO, May 12, 2015

One document shows a map of my location (31 Tevis Place) relative to the geography of the San Francisco peninsula, including SFO.

This is followed by a map of “All Available Flight Activities for May 12, 2015 (24 Hours)”. Green Tracks are SFO Departures and Red Tracks are SFO Arrivals. As can be seen from this complex and busy map, my house is squarely under the approach assembly/preparation area for the two main approach corridors to SFO – one along the bay shore and the other up the westerly part of the peninsula. Our area of Crescent Park seems to be under pretty much ALL of the incoming traffic as it lines up for approach along one or the other corridor to SFO.

SFO Noise Complaint Summary Map for March 2015
SFO Noise Complaint Summary Map for March 2015
SFO Complaint Map - 1601
SFO Noise Complaint Summary Map for January 2016

A second document shows the “Monthly Noise Complaint Summary Map March 2015”, which clearly indicates a preponderance of complaints from Crescent Park, and interestingly from the Scotts Valley path from Capitola up toward our area. Presumably this corridor is where flights from the Pacific make land fall to approach SFO.

Whether or not the noise from the aircraft bothers individual residents, we are pretty much at “ground zero” for these SFO approach preparation maneuvers.

Tom Rindfleisch
6/14/15

© 2024 TC Rindfleisch