Went to Volunteer Park a little before sunset on Saturday night.

I was just telling someone last week that even though I've read here on the blog that jet noise is a problem for some people on the hill, I've never really noticed it. Well I definitely noticed it today and it really is pretty loud, as you can hear in the video.

This is the sixth of my weekly series of ambient shots around Capitol Hill. Every week I'll pick a different spot and stay for about 10 minutes to create a 'snapshot' of that location at that moment.

RECENT SNAPSHOTS

#5 - Bellevue & Belmont

#4 - Olive between John and Summit

#3 - Broadway across from Dicks

#2 - Thomas St P-Patch

Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn released his proposed music and nightlife policy. It sounds like great news for existing bars and clubs. According to the Seattle P-I article:

Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn on Wednesday came down on the side of the city's bars and nightclubs, saying new residential developments "must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments."

He also said he favored staggered closing times to cut down on rowdiness when bars and clubs close

This is particularly great for queer nightlife on Capitol Hill. I don't know if any one else has been nervous about the re-development next to The Cuff. Hopefully, this would protect bars (especially gay bars) who are harassed by new neighbors who want to live in a vibrant part of the city but then don't want to deal with noise and traffic. 

flying
Originally uploaded by yelahneb

Two recent Seattle Times stories warrant CHS follow-ups. We'll be looking into both of these soon. In the meantime, let's jump in.

• Alaska Air tests fuel-saving landing procedure
  Part of life on Capitol Hill is jet noise. Sometimes, you don't notice it. Sometimes, it seems like that jumbo jet is about to land on Broadway. The Times recently reported on a new effort to change the way planes land at the airport that could mean a big change in the jet noise we hear on the Hill and in neighborhoods across Seattle:

The new procedure, dubbed Optimized Profile Descent by the airline industry and its regulators, is a measure that uses high technology satellite-guided navigation, the power of computerized aircraft flight management computers with the oversight of the FAA to change the decades-old procedures for bringing aircraft from cruising altitude to a landing on the runway.

Times says that part of the new system currently being tested by Alaska Airlines would include a big change in the way Sea-Tac handles queuing its incoming jetliners by turning much of the process over to computers:

By the airline's calculations, 750,000 people in the Puget Sound area would hear less aircraft noise each year.

The benefit would come from more precise timing of arrivals in the airport vicinity.

What happens now, when multiple planes arrive in the Puget Sound area to land at roughly the same time, controllers extend the queue of planes lined up to land farther northward or southward depending on what direction the wind is blowing at the time.

When the line is long and planes are landing to the south, aircraft approaching from the south or west fly above Puget Sound northward, say as far as Lynnwood, before turning southward and joining the line of planes headed toward Sea-Tac runways. The same principle applies when landings are to the north with the line for landing extending well south of the airport.

Under a well-coordinated OPD system, aircraft would be instructed to slow down at cruise altitude where their fuel efficiency is at a maximum and noise reaching the ground is at a minimum to avoid reaching the area at the same time.

With the opening of Sea-Tac's third runway late in 2008, incoming air traffic over the Capitol Hill area follows two main channels: the newest path around 12th Ave (red) and the long-term path along 19th Ave (green)

View Larger Map

According to the Times, the Hill could start to hear a reduction in jet noise as early as next year as Alaska Airlines puts the new process into action. But the public feedback is just starting and other neighborhoods that might be adversely affected by the change are already taking notice. CHS is looking into what is coming next on the public process front and what you can do to get behind a plan that will truly bring quieter skies to the Hill.

• Mayor candidates oppose 1st Avenue streetcar
  The Times notes that both Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn oppose construction of a streetcar through Belltown and downtown as part of the plan mayor Greg Nickels pushed to replace the Viaduct. But Mallahan has also targeted the Capitol Hill/First Hill streetcar line:

Mallahan added that he would study and maybe oppose Sound Transit's future streetcar across First Hill and Capitol Hill -- even though it's funded by last fall's voter-approved Proposition 1. The line is Sound Transit's consolation prize to one of the state's most populated neighborhoods, after rising costs forced the transit board to cancel a First Hill light-rail station promised to voters back in 1996.

We'll definitely have to dig into this. Standing up against the line would be a pretty bold move given that the project is being paid for by Sound Transit, not the city, and that community groups are already busy advocating for where the line should be built, not whether it should be built at all.

In February, Seattle eased the process for large projects like the University Link light rail effort to receive variances to the city's noise laws. While Sound Transit hasn't yet gone through the variance process for its Capitol Hill light rail and tunneling work, it's going to soon. The agency will need to arrange permission for round-the-clock work if the station and tunnels are to be complete on time and on budget.

This week, they want to talk with you about the noise and a few other items of import related to ongoing work on the eight-year project.

Sound Transit Noise and Night Construction Forum
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6 to 8 p.m. (presentation begins at 6:30)
Century Ballroom
Information about night time construction, noise, and SDOT will be there to discuss pedestrian safety concerns on Olive and Denny.

This is an excellent point in the process to have your concerns listened to and, most importantly, acted on. With the variance process looming on the horizon, Sound Transit wants happy neighbors. tell them about what will make you happy. Be a little, well, noisy.

People love a boogey man. I'd been told by a few different people about Sound Transit pulling a fast one and scheduling some kind of hearing about relaxation in the city noise ordinances semi-secretly in the next week. Sound Transit says that's not the case and the city's Department of Planning calendar confirms it. No hearing on Sound Transit construction noise yet.

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UPDATE: Sound Transit followed up with information on a hearing that might have caused some confusion up on the Hill. There is a meeting Thursday night to discuss a variance for the work on the UW light rail station. You can see the attached notice for more information on that session.

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Spokesperson Bruce Gray says there is an important meeting planned to discuss Sound Transit's Capitol Hill light rail station and tunnel construction noise upcoming -- but it's a public session to gather feedback and discuss the projects, not the official hearing with the city to establish a variance to the noise ordinances. Here's the info on the June 10th session:

Sound Transit Noise and Night Construction Forum
Thursday, June 10, 2009
6 to 8 p.m.  (presentation begins at 6:30)
Broadway Performance Hall
1625 Broadway, Seattle WA
We will have information about night time construction, noise, and SDOT will be there to discuss pedestrian safety concerns on Olive and Denny.

Recall that the city has eased the process for large projects like the University Link light rail effort to get variances in the city's noise laws to enable things like night-time work. If you live within earshot of the future station between John and Denny along Broadway, mark your calendar.

Recently, the Slog told us about a neighbor who called the police on the Neighbours nightclub more than 500 times in a two-year period. Neighbours, it turns out, isn't the only Capitol Hill institution with a neighbor angry about the noise.

Recently at an East Precinct community meeting, a representative for a local citizens agency described an issue some residents were having with loud music and parties happening in a loft somewhere on Capitol Hill. In the meeting, Kay Godefroy of the Seattle Neighborhood Group was vague about the location of the noise complaints and wouldn't identify the businesses involved. But when asked for more information after the meeting, she said the residents told her the noise came from an unlicensed restaurant operating in Pike/Pine.

The description and timing of the complaints matches events created by Cafe Vita owner and, now, Seattle restaurateur Michael Hebberoy. His One Pot dinners are one part culinary adventure and two parts...

In a move that will rankle citizen groups (one prominent advocate was tossed from the meeting) and ease the process by which large public projects get built in Seattle, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation making it easier for large projects to apply for -- and get -- variances to the city's construction noise laws. We wrote about the legislation and surrounding issues last month -- Round-the-clock construction noise vs. public projects that don't drag on and on.

While passing the legislation to approve the changes was not unexpected, there was a notable division on the council regarding councilmember Nick Licata's proposal to increase the opportunity for public review of the noise process by creating an annual review of the ordinance. The proposal failed 5-4 with Jan Drago, Sally Clark, Tim Burgess, Tom Rasmussen, and Jean Godden weighing in against the amendment.

Perhaps helping to illustrate some of the reasons more public process isn't always better public process, advocate Chris...

Asking this question is tantamount to asking you if your nose itches. Even if it didn't before, it does now.

But our cousins over in the CD ask the question that must be asked: With Sea-Tac's new runway in place and operational, have you noticed a change in jet noise where you live?

Last month the airport opened up the much-delayed 3rd runway to general use, and I'm curious if anyone in the neighborhood has noticed a difference.  The approach for the eastern-most runway takes planes roughly over 20th Ave as they head south over the city.  The new runway is a half mile to the west, which would put those planes over closer to 12th.

View Larger Map

No clear answers over in the CD. For me, I've noticed more planes. But I think that's because I'm looking for them. Kind of like that itchy nose.

Which street is below
the flight path into Sea-Tac?
My vote is 18th.

Um, it's 19th, actually.

Prairie folklore suggests that coyotes (Canis latrans) increase howling when the moon is full, yet menstrual patterns of coyote vocalizations have never been formally investigated. Thus, our purpose was to determine whether howling by coyotes is related to lunar condition. The study was conducted in July and August 1992, and from June to August 1994, in the Cypress Hills region of southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Coyote howling was surveyed immediately following dusk for 90-120 min, and was categorized by lunar condition. Group howling and group-yip howling were negatively related to increasing moonlight, but there was no relationship...

Flights need to change direction based on weather. Roughly
70% of the year, Sea-tac is in a "South Flow" pattern meaning all
flights land and depart from the North to the South. When in a South
Flow pattern, EVERY FLIGHT LANDING AT SEA-TAC flies in a straight
line from 520, directly over Capitol Hill, then the Central District,
then Beacon Hill until landing at Sea-Tac. The target path is
roughly over 19th Avenue. 100% of the burden of all descending
flight noise is upon these neighborhood when in a South Flow pattern.