COMMENT OF THE DAY: A DIFFERENCE IN FREEWAY SOUND QUALITY “I used to live upstairs in a 4 plex on the other side of the Spur on 59. I never found the freeway noise bothersome even though I could practically see the whites of the drivers’ eyes from my bedroom window. It was a constant whooshing that I just pretended was the sound of the ocean . On the other hand I later lived blocks and blocks away from I-10 but the sound of 18 wheelers shifting gears used to annoy me when I was trying to sleep. It depends more on the traffic patterns than distance.” [Tangyjoe, commenting on Porch-Sitting on the Edge in Woodland Heights]
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I live not far from the spur, and we have a lot of multifamily close to it. It’s not so bad as people are just coming on/off the freeway vs. going at full speed. Plus I don’t think you have a lot (any?) large commercial trucks on the spur.
When I lived near the Spur, the traffic sounded like ocean breakers and lulled me to sleep at night.
Now I live on the coast and the breakers remind me of 59, but with a better view.
Hmmm, I’d have thought that my car probably produces the *most* noise at WOT as I accelerate from a standstill up the relatively steep incline from Richmond onto the Spur.
I used to live near 59 and Hazard and the freeway noise became just background noise after awhile. I don’t remembering hearing it inside at all.
My house backs up to 59 – although there’s a 20-or-so foot right of way between my back fence and the freeway (and the yard is pretty long). I can’t hear it in the house over my AC, but obviously I can hear it in the backyard. Its not bothersome, I can still enjoy the yard and have a conversation without raising my voice. It’s impossible, even if you raise your voice, to be heard by anyone who is more than a few feet away, though.
I found it much more disturbing to live at an intersection with cars speeding up and slowing down all the time.
Once every couple of weeks or so, I do hear (what sounds like) a terrific wreck down on the freeway.
Constant ambient sound in excess of ~40dB can lead to high blood pressure problems. I live next to the Pierce Elevated and the only way to effectively buffer sound is with mass. Also, micro-particulates are a huge issue that requires constant HEPA-grade air filtering and positive pressurized space. It’s too bad these issues are never considered when determining whether to expand an inner city freeway, your’e on your own.