550+ days of data on the traffic noise in the Village of Justice

I had an interesting conversation with an "acoustic guy" that was interested in the sound chambers I designed and built for sound recordings at work.  He had confirmed what I have long believed to solve some of the traffic noise with the possibility of an 8 dB drop (meaning it would feel like less and half the noise).  Since you can physically see the cars on I-294 from the frontage road a simple Berm (basically a mound of dirt) of an extra 6-8ft.  The village has the equipment- hey, there is even a "HUGE" mound of land near the public works!  Seems like a no-brainer....

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 550+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

550+ days of data on the traffic noise in the Village of Justice

I had an interesting conversation with an "acoustic guy" that was interested in the sound chambers I designed and built for sound recordings at work.  He had confirmed what I have long believed to solve some of the traffic noise with the possibility of an 8 dB drop (meaning it would feel like less and half the noise).  Since you can physically see the cars on I-294 from the frontage road a simple Berm (basically a mound of dirt) of an extra 6-8ft.  The village has the equipment- hey, there is even a "HUGE" mound of land near the public works!  Seems like a no-brainer....

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 550+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

501 days of data on the traffic noise in the Village of Justice

So,
500+ days of recorded data of traffic noise......   Do I feel any better? NOPE!

I am happier that we are very slowly, maybe at the rate of a 10th of that a snail, getting sidewalks.  It is also welcome news that the Village will be connecting to the I&M bike path.  Maybe turn the vacant lot at the end of Oak Grove into a parking lot, heck even charge $1 to park (honor system).

The Village of Justice does have some promising qualities e.g. property with large plots of land, nice neighbors, quiet local traffic.  It also has lots of things that need work too e.g.  Loud traffic from the larger roads, sub par schools , almost no businesses for walking around the neighborhood and lets not forget the earthquakes from the quarry blasts!  I believe the Village is going in the right direction even if I believe nothing has been done to address the LOUD traffic noise. I also believe if the Village could tap into some of the resources e.g. Permaculture is a thing I believe would attract people to this area and would like to see it promoted, even a farmers market would attract people.  We now live in a time were people are very interested in where their food comes from- and would love to have huge gardens a few chickens even a small goat.  Lets face it, I would rather listen to a rooster/goat all day than to LOUD traffic noise that can be unrelenting!  I'm pretty sure sure if I broadcasted music at 50-60dB all night towards the street someone would call the cops yet if you visit my stats page you will see we live with this sort of noise daily even through the night!

Oh, I did get a nasty email about my comment of sub-par schools.  So here; In 2015 the calculated Average Standard Score was 39.05 out of 100!  Brodnicki is Ranked1150th of elementary schools in Illinois.  Yet looking at my property tax bill and comparing it to other friends that live in districts with much better schools I see almost no cost difference.
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/IL/schools/0717000369/school.aspx

remember testing only starts in 3rd grade, a quick example: http://www.greatschools.org/compare?state=il&school_ids=717,3089&search_url=%2Fillinois%2Fhickory-hills%2Fschools%2F

In case you want a direct link:

I have the recorded stats for the past 500+ days!

Check the stats:

Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Oh No! not traffic noise

So Father's day weekend was unique.

I brewed beer on Friday night in the driveway and listened to 51dB of traffic noise till 2:30am, followed by 50dB early Saturday morning.  The funny thing was that about 8:30am -ish the traffic noise dropped down to 43dB and stayed that way until almost 10pm where it slowly increased.

In case you want a direct link:

I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!

Check the stats:

Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

More weirdness with the Village of Justice IL traffic noise

So from ~4pm-8pm (we were outside working in the yard) traffic noise held steady at 42dB.  42dB is barley audible and we have no problems with it. When I got back from Menards at ~9pm the noise jump to 48dB and stayed there until sometime after 1am.  The noise dropped to 47dB between 1am-5:30am when I measured it in the morning again.

Doesn't that seem strange?

In case you want a direct link:

I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!

Check the stats:

Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Too late for the Village of Justice, Illinois!

Yep, to late now!  Even if we stay at 40dB everyday for the rest of the month the Village will break it's highest month average that has been recorded in the past year+.

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

This is the frustrating part of living in the Village of Justice, IL

So yesterday morning was 60dB at 5:30am and dropped to about 40dB by 9am.  It stayed at about 40dB all day and most of the night (last recorded at midnight).  This in my eyes is magical and exactly what we remember about moving to our house, quiet with a large plot of land.

Now, think about this- how can it go through weekday period of pre-rush, rush hours and post rush hours being so quiet (~40dB) yet somehow 60dB is acceptable.  In my opinion, this is just as unacceptable as having your house shaken everyday.  A couple of the neighbors, seemed OK with both situations but we have to remember- this is our home, our house, our neighborhood, our community.  My hope is that we need to standup as a community and say no more, these situations are unacceptable before it is too late.  Then all we will hear is loud traffic noise and have lower property values and when we complain be told so sorry but it has always been that way.

This morning was 46dB at 5:30am

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

On Pace to break an unwanted record

So where to start,

Not only have the earthquakes come back with our only recourse is to call a number to complain and hear how legally they can continue blasting at 105% (the person I spoke with seemed ill educated and quite confrontational) and putting cracks in our ceilings and foundations.  To sum the conversation up "So sorry please call again".

Blasting company 1       Village of Justice 0

Well the traffic noise is ramped up this month and unless there is a dramatic decrease we will break our record for monthly average.  Currently this May is 49 dB, how loud is 49 dB? Imagine having a conversation with someone that never stops talking.  So far the loudest morning of this month was 61dB which is like being in a busy diner/restaurant.  Just thing about this- a few decibels higher and it would be equivalent to being 50ft from an 65mph interstate, yet I'm taking the reading at 0.7 miles aways from the nearest highway!

Traffic 1          Village of Justice 0



I am so looking forward to road construction season!

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Highs and Lows in Traffic Noise in the Village of Justice

So far April has been the quietest month this year in terms of traffic noise in the Village of Justice, IL.  It comes as a surprise as up until the middle of the month it had higher than normal traffic noise followed by a few weeks straight of bellow average noise.

May, however has already shown to be a louder month (God, I truly hope it changes).  The Village of Justice does have some promising qualities e.g. property with large plots of land, nice neighbors, quiet local traffic.  It also has lots of things that need work too e.g.  Loud traffic from the larger roads, sub par schools (before I hear anything- I am a thesis paper away from a Masters in Education), little to no sidewalks, almost no businesses for walking and lets not forget the earthquakes from the quarry blasts!  I believe the Village is going in the right direction even if I believe nothing has been done to address the LOUD traffic noise. I also believe if the Village could tap into some of the resources e.g. make a connection to the I&M canal trail and publicize it (heck even a small store) to attract people, Permaculture in another thing I believe would attract people to this area.  We now live in a time were people are very interested in where their food comes from- and would love to have huge gardens a few chickens even a small goat.  Lets face it, I would rather listen to a rooster/goat all day apposed to LOUD traffic noise that can be unrelenting!


lately I have been very tempted to build an automated system with live data monitoring, average hourly and daily sound levels.  This would be built on a raspberry Pi 3 and combine a small weather station data with a directional mic that would rotate.  I imagine I could write code to compensate for train and plane generated sounds, but whats the fun in that!  This project, although depressing at times, has been a lot of fun.




In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Even Stranger...... a follow up for 4/16/16

So,

within a few hours ~4 since the last post there has been a substantial drop in decibels in the traffic noise in the Village of Justice!  How much? Well it was 54dB in the morning of 4/16/16 and by noon it dropped to 41dB!  That is HUGE!  13dB change would be the equivalent to (54dB) being a normal to loud conversation at ~3ft and 41dB being a whisper at 3ft.


Now, try to sleep with a normal to loud conversation happening a couple of feet away!





In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Here we go again will loud traffic noise in the Village of Justice, even at 3am!

Traffic noise has been 54dB now since 8pm last night- yes, constant for over 12 hours.  I measure it at 3am and it was STILL 54dB, this is frustrating! 

Boy, I wish the Village of Justice would do something about this noise.  Even my neighbors are getting frustrated- as it has become hard to enjoy your yard when you can hear the birds or casual conversation!

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Hi and Low in the Village of Justice

So,

Another strange couple of days in the Village of Justice, IL.  Saturday the 9th of April started as an incredible day- 38dB.  You definitely could not hear the demolition of the buildings on the corner of 79th and Cork. In fact, by 11am the noise dropped to the lowest I have recorded 35 dB since I started this project!  It could be best described as amazing- the birds were singing, calling and mating ( Starlings, Northern Flickers, Grey Catbirds, Nuthatches and even a few kinglets). It was so peaceful and the Village of Justice just seemed like the most perfect place to live for the day.

Sunday was raining but in the morning it was 46 dB and rose to 50 dB by 1pm.  It stayed that loud through the Monday morning recording ~5:45am.

It would be wishful thinking magical if the construction happening on the frontage road included a sound barrier!

In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 400+ days!
Check the stats:
Traffic Noise of the Village of Justice IL

Strange? Maybe just more of the same.....

So here it is 6:00am on Easter Sunday.....  enjoying a nice cup of coffee and listening to 50 dB of traffic noise from the I-294 direction!  Granted by noon it was only 44 dB but what the heck is happening?  Maybe some major construction will be due to start on I-294 that will slow people down.    :(

50 dB traffic noise on Sunday ~3pm

So here we are- little gusts of wind, mostly overcast day.  Over a mile from one expressway I-55 and just under 1 mile to the other expressway I-294.  When we bought our house in 2003- it was quiet.  I study bird song for a living and yes, it was quiet at and around our house.  I cannot speak for those who live near the park as we didn't have children at the time.  We are outdoor people- lots of bicycle riding, hiking, gardening, ice skating, cross country skiing, etc...  To think we would not notice 50 dB traffic noise any day of the week- let alone a weekend is a joke.  To imply that it has always been that way is a bigger joke because I find it hard to sleep with the windows closed at 50 dB let alone when we have our windows open at night which is most of the spring and summer (a good chunk of fall too).

We noticed a few years ago now that the traffic noise had increased dramatically.  Considering an increase of 10 decibels gives the impression of the sound level doubling by most people- yes, studies have been done and I will try to find those and cite them.  I contacted public works and the current mayor.  The response from public works was that an incredible number of ash trees had been removed leading to the increase.  The mayor, on the other hand said he has been living in the village for 15+ years and had no sense of an increase in sound.  In fact it turns out he live only a few block away from me.  His response in no way was rude- he just pointed out he did not sense any increase in noise.


So- I started an experiment 1 year ago on March 1st 2015. I've been using a Bruel & Kjaer 2209 sound meter to check the sound levels in the morning.  I started measuring sound levels as I leave for work near 73rd and Oak Grove Ave. The link below is the doc I've been compiling.  In most cases the sound from I-294 direction is greater.


To give you some background, at 38 dB the road noise is very quiet and takes some effort to pick out.  At 42 dB the road noise is very tolerable, at 45 dB it starts to drowned out everything else, at ~48 dB it sounds louder than the birds singing and can be heard through double pane windows if the house is quiet (e.g. sleeping at night).  No recordings are done while local traffic can be seen or heard and no trains/planes.


Oh, and for the brick I found on my lawn that was written "STOP" on; here is your one word answer "NO".  I didn't feel obliged to answer via brick-



Follow me logging the traffic noise levels here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IpXXYpW4u5Ey7fHMUo721Wq45kjGIL8gQCU0Kuw-36I/edit?usp=sharing

So, I emailed Mark Kirk and Daniel Lipinski.....

Hello,
I have a major concern.  I am a classically trained biologist and have been the manager of acoustic behavioral lab at the University of Chicago for 17 years now.  I have a major concern right now that has to do with the Village I live in, Justice (Near I-55 and I-294).  We have been living in this community for almost 15 years now and love our small plot of land (we have a small house on half an acre).  We try our best to live green, be great neighbors and teach our young son where his food comes from.  Our yard has honey bees, a few chickens and incredible flower and vegetable gardens. We bought this house in terrible condition because it was close to the city, quiet and had a large plot of land.  However, we have noticed a change in the noise levels and we are not talking about a couple of decibles.  In the past five years it has been getting louder, I know acoustics -noise and how to manage it as it is part of my job, and it is troubling.  I contacted the mayor, who has been responsive, but feel as though I have been brushed aside by saying it has always been this loud.  The problem is- It hasn't always been this loud.  We have had neighbors move or hang windchimes to cope but this is our village and I believe we should expect change but should not let change hurt our community.  As a scientist I have been recording the traffic levels in a spreadsheet every morning for almost a year using a highly accurate piece of equipment see here- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IpXXYpW4u5Ey7fHMUo721Wq45kjGIL8gQCU0Kuw-36I/edit?usp=sharing   I have also been writing about this on my blog- http://dbaleckaitis.blogspot.com  I would hope you would look into this matter and please let me know if you have any questions about this and the theory of sound doubling or even ways that could help us curb this traffic noise.

Thank you for your time





In case you want a direct link:
I have the recorded stats for the past 300+ days!
Check the stats:
Village of Justice Traffic noise stats

Calm before the Storm in the Village of Justice IL?

So Friday morning was quiet in the morning- 38 dB and truly made me remember when we moved to the area.  When I got home later in the day I could tell it was gonna be bad.  You see, if you measure how loud it is around 10pm +/- 2 dB that is how loud it will be the following morning.......   Sounds weird?  Yes it does, but why?  I believe it is not the factor of how much traffic, because lets face it, the  traffic at 10pm is almost never as bad as the traffic at 5pm.  So one has to suspect that it is the combination of the speed and the materials used in the pavement.....

Noise-reducing pavements get loud acclaim in US and Europe

This is a very interesting read......

Asphalt Pavements Mitigate Tire/Pavement Noise

Now, with well over 6,000 views to this blog since I started posting traffic noise issues in the Village of Justice IL, I hope someone of power would read this and say...... Yes, we can make some of these changes.  I'm not even posting about how to curtail current noise levels- I have lots of info on that subject since that is part of my job.  I have even designed and built sound chambers myself that rival and beat some of the major builders in terms of wall thickness and weight and sound attenuation.

Can't forget a link to my project of recording traffic noise in the Village of Justice IL.

traffic noise levels in the Village of Justice

Why the Village of Justice IL. Belongs on the list of worst suburbs of Chicago

Why the Village of Justice IL. Belongs on the list of worst suburbs of Chicago

Wow, that seems harsh- I know it does but lets be honest.


1. Primary and middle schools are rated very poorly in the state!
2. Property taxes are on par with many school districts that do far better
3. Noise pollution, traffic noise is bad 54dB at 10pm- more on that bellow
4. lost the small town atmosphere (village hall/building dept. not as helpful as they use to be)
5. not family friendly (little to no sidewalks, two parks with super high traffic noise and broken equipment for long stretches of time, teenagers smoking and drinking at kids park).
6. High fees e.g. having one's work truck impounded (not the highest in the state but damn close)
7. Lost its hometown suburb street look (lots of trees cut out), few to no kids playing.
8. park district offers minimal programs
9. library staff is about a 50:50 mix of helpful/very nice to abrupt and almost rude.
10. little to no library programs.  TURNS OUT, this isn't completely true  BUT It is amazing how many people we have met from the Village at other library programs e.g. Bridgeview, Green Hill, Orland, Oaklawn and even Chicago branches.

So yesterday at around 4pm I noticed a spike in the traffic noise, yes- easily heard through double pane windows.  I took some measurements outside and found that excluding the horn on the train (we live near the railroad tracks) one could not distinguish between a train running and not running!  That my friends is very disturbing and no- this should not be common BUT IT IS COMMON!  Before you get to asking the question- I do have proof, not only in the form of us living in the village for well over 10 years now and noticed a shift to louder and louder traffic noise over the past ~3 years.  I've also been recording the traffic noise daily for almost a year! I've been using a Bruel & Kjaer 2209 sound meter to check the sound levels in the morning.  Being about one mile from I-55 and I-294 (as a crow flies in both cases) I started measuring sound levels as I leave for work near 73rd and Oak Grove Ave. You too can do this as the smartphones of today are a powerful tool and as it turns out very accurate in giving directional sound level measurements. Start recording the sound levels with one of many free sound level apps and let the Village know you are not happy with the sound levels.

This is my log, copy it and add your daily data- don't forget to post a link on the net!

Village of Justice Traffic noise levels


Here is now a list of reasons why I'm still living in the Village of Justice:

1. Waiting for property values to raise as we would like to get at least most of the money we invested back.
2. Easy to contact the mayor and yes, he is, pretty responsive.  (we called because our houses were shaking almost violently every day.  Several neighbors and I contacted the building dept and mayor; we were notified that they contacted the quarry near Brookfield and they installed a seismometer at the Lipinski Center and believe it or not, the house shaking happens only 1-3 times a month and not as violent.)
3. Neighbors are nice/helpful
4. We can walk to the park(s)
5. We have a park district
6. We do have a library

Well, all good things come to an end in the Village of Justice Il.

Happy New Year!

Well, all good things come to an end in the Village of Justice, Il.  From Christmas day on the morning of the 25th 2015 (38 dB) until the 4th of Jan 2016 traffic noise was averaging 43 dB which seems almost fantastic!  Granted December 24th was 50dB and we are already in the 50+ dB range for the New Year!  Yeah-  I can't wait for the new I-294 exit, that will make everything quieter (NOT). Oh, and the wooded/buildings lot on the corner of 88th ave and 79th st- well.... not wooded any more!  I hope a 22 story hotel gets built at that location that can deflect the noise headed my way.....

Can we get a sound wall?  Pretty Please?

I have the recorded stats for the past 300+ days!
Check the stats:
Village of Justice Traffic noise stats