Council Has a Role in Noise Relief

In a region crisscrossed by thousands of miles of freeways, too many parts of Southern California are regularly bombarded with burdensome noise that accompanies these throughways.

For many residents living near our state’s highways, the screeching of brakes, the rumbling of trucks and blaring of horns have increased proportionately as traffic has grown.

Those freeway-adjacent communities that have long been promised noise relief through the construction of new sound walls may now actually hear true quiet.

Early next year, the California Transportation Commission plans to vote on the construction of various sound wall projects. Yes, the commission says there is funding available for 42 walls throughout Los Angeles County that were approved in the late 1980s but never funded. Better yet, the commission has already given a preliminary nod to funding these sound walls with the final vote scheduled to occur in March 2000.

To ensure that the Los Angeles area sound wall construction occurs, I recently introduced a motion asking that the Los Angeles City Council reaffirm its support for the 1989 sound wall list. As we do on many important issues, the city needs to go on record and advocate for state funding.

The 1989 list included 18 Los Angeles freeway locations all over the city, from Panorama City to Woodland Hills and from West Los Angeles to Hollywood.

Thus, now is the time for the Los Angeles City Council to loudly sound its horn urging the commission to approve the $31.5 million needed for the 42 sound walls throughout the county. If the 1989 list is finally approved, sound wall construction could be completed by 2006.

But some still want to debate this matter by seeking to add more sound walls to the 1989 list as well as revisit the existing list. This is counterproductive and could actually result in losing the first opportunity we’ve had to see these needed walls funded by the state.

We must go forward and not backward.

I am concerned that if my motion--which seeks to express advance support for the 1989 funding list--is stalled in council, it will cause the city to lose the momentum to ensure that the state carries out the funding and construction.

Ironically, there is nothing to debate. This list was approved by the state in 1989 and, more recently, by the City Council. This list cannot be altered in any way. The commission’s certification process does not permit changes to be made after the fact.

Rather, Los Angeles and its neighboring cities need to show uniform and firm support for the 42 sound wall projects slated for construction in Los Angeles County, including the 18 in the city. In fact, elected officials across Los Angeles County need to join together to support the 1989 list and stop the daily torment of incessant freeway noise in all too many of our communities.

I support recent action in council committee to identify additional areas that are in great need of soundwalls. The council should continue to work together to press the state to allocate additional money for the next list of soundwall projects.

However, I must strongly urge the council and all local jurisdictions to join with me to ensure that this opportunity for state funding does not slip away. Specifically, the City Council needs to act swiftly and approve the transmission of a letter to the Transportation Commission expressing the city’s support for the various sound wall projects. Prompt action by the council now can help thousands of residents living near freeways regain quality of life.