Homeowners to Press for Sound Walls

A group of North Hollywood homeowners formed a coalition Thursday night to push for the construction of freeway sound walls in their community.

About 125 residents who live within the roar of the Ventura and Hollywood freeways complained that life near the fast lanes brings constant noise, pollution and dust into their homes.

Many residents said freeway drivers pull to the shoulder and burglarize their homes. “We can’t even hear the robbers because of all the noise,” one woman said to the applause of those in attendance.

The group, which calls itself the Freeway Coalition, joins dozens of neighborhoods throughout the San Fernando Valley clamoring for state Department of Transportation officials to fund the tall block walls that buffer freeway noise.

“The theory is that there is strength in numbers,” said Kurt Hunter, president of the North Hollywood Residents Assn. and a coalition organizer. “We will make them realize there is a crying need for a wall.”

Caltrans had compiled a list of 220 neighborhoods in the state that qualify for sound walls. It ranks neighborhoods by taking into account noise levels, the cost of building walls, projected noise decreases and the number of homes affected.

But residents may have to wait up to 20 years before state funding is available for walls in their area, said Caltrans engineer William Minter.

“We have priorities and just because people form coalitions does not mean we can pass over somebody else on the list,” Minter said. “We cannot be amenable to political pressure because then construction would depend on how much support a group could line up and the lowest project could be first. It’s a matter of fairness.”