Residents are cynical that soundwall gaps will be filled
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
MICHIGAN AVENUEAndrew Nickel lives in a sunny home just 10 blocks from the famous beaches of Santa Monica. But instead of the calming sound of crashing waves, he lives with another kind of soundtrack, the harsh clamor of cars speeding down the I-10 Freeway.
Nickel said that after living along the freeway for 10 years, the traffic has become “white noise.” But many people who have rented from him have quickly moved out, complaining of the disruption created by rumbling motorcycles and trucks.And although he has learned to live with the constant sound of engines, it is hard to ignore at times.
“I hate Harley-Davidsons,”he admitted.“I hate it when they’re all together in groups. They think the on-ramp is a little race track.”
Since purchasing his condominium, Nickel has replaced his metal window frames with vinyl ones in an attempt to block the noise. As the president of his local homeowners’ association, Nickel and his neighbors have also considered hiring engineers and architects to build noise-blocking additions to their homes.
“I have definitely spent money on keeping out the noise,and I’m going to spend more,”he said.“Noise is an issue that’s really understated — noise is a stresser.”
Nickel lives in one of the seven areas along I-10 that are not protected by a soundwall.The gaps are spread along the freeway from Ninth Street to 34th Street. Many of these gaps fall in residential areas, where apartment buildings are separated from the freeway by nothing more than a wire fence.
Residents living within these seven sound-wall gaps may have a while to wait for any respite from the racket. On June 17, the City Council received a budget study session report prepared by Director of Finance Carol Swindell estimating that it would cost $2.7 million to fill the gaps in the soundwall. The project is not in the proposed city budget for 2008-2009. “Residents have requested in the past that walls be installed,” said Tony Antich, city engineer.
Sound studies have been conducted in these areas and all of the gaps qualify to have soundwalls built in them, but it is simply a matter of funding the large project.
Mark Mouro, who also lives on 10th Street, said that his homeowners’ association has discussed approaching the City Council to try to have a wall built.
“We want to see if it’s a possibility and see if we have a right to ask,” he said.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority,or MTA,is responsible for funding freeway soundwall projects. Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said the Santa Monica soundwall gaps are currently on the unfunded list of transportation projects. Projects on this list will not be funded by Metro until at least 2012.
“We don’t have enough transportation funding to do everything that’s necessary,” Sotero said. “Especially because these types of projects are not funded at the state or federal level.”
As a result, MTA must prioritize the projects that will make the most difference in the county’s overall transportation system. Sotero said an important factor is whether a new transportation project would improve mobility on Los Angeles roads.
Residents who live in the gaps can often look out their windows to see homes that are protected by soundwalls.
“It doesn’t make any sense why the wall stopped right across the street,” Mauro said.
Francisco Lopez has lived along I-10 on 17th street for 14 years and has two small children.Lopez thinks that a soundwall behind his building might solve problems beyond the annoying sound of traffic. Lopez’s biggest complaint is the congregation of homeless people in the space between the freeway and his apartment building.
“Now there’s a wire fence, but they just jump it,” he said.
Hilda Ramirez, who has lived along one of the soundwall gaps on Cloverfield Boulevard and Delaware Avenue for 26 years, said that homeless people often gather just outside her second-story window. She recalled an accident that occurred on the freeway in which a car crashed into the fence in the area where homeless people often sat,crushing their belongings.
“I think the city should approach this with more urgency,” she said.
MTA has given the council two options to get the soundwall project underway more quickly, Antich said. In the first option, the council can provide one-third of the total cost of the project, but MTA gave no guarantee when the other two-thirds would become available. In the second option, the city would pay the entire cost of the project, and MTA would provide reimbursements if and when funds become available. Again, there is no guarantee of when this would occur.
“I think there are many top priorities in this city,”Antich said.He called the soundwall project a “formidable chore.”
None of the residents, however, seemed to have plans to move because of the freeway noise. Instead, many have chosen to look on the bright side of living so close to the freeway, such as easy access for their morning commutes and more reasonable rent prices.
Nickel, for one, has found a serendipitous result of freeway living.
“They had to dig to make the freeway, so I get some great city views.”
While most residents say that they would be happy to see a soundwall go up by their homes, some expressed concerns that it might change the atmosphere that they have grown accustomed to. George Naryan, 22, has lived by the freeway on 21st Street with his family for his whole life and has never had a problem with the location of his house.
“To be honest, I really like the way it is,” he said. “We’re outdoorsy people and we like the gusts of wind that come up by our house. We wouldn’t want anything to block that.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 5, 2008. Read the original PDF.