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

The Village of Justice is about to break........

The monthly record for loudest month of traffic noise!  Yes!   Errrr....  I think that's bad?


I've been actively logging the daily traffic noise since March of this year.  So, last night I was getting ready for bed at around midnight and I could hear the traffic noise through our double pane windows.  I went out and took a quick reading 52dB all coming from the I-55 direction.  Seemed odd, as most traffic noise comes from the I-294 direction.  Who knows, maybe the heavy wooded lot that was (located at the end of Oak Grove) clear-cut by the village a couple of years ago lets the sound travel 1 MILE to my house and still be 52 dB.  I got up to go to the bathroom around 4 am and I could hear the traffic just as loud- so I took another reading at 52 dB.  When I left for work at 5:45 am it was still 52 dB-  does anybody else think this is a problem?

Oh, getting back to the record-  so far this month traffic noise is averaging 48.8 dB.  I find it hard to believe it will drop 1 full decibel before the end of the month- but who knows.  God, how I have become to love construction to lower the traffic noise!

Great job Village of Justice!  Reminds me of the time when someone running for the school board was politicking for re-election and told me he could get my street re-paved, yeah-right! 

In case you read this and don't wanna click the link to view these data.  Loudest day of this year was 59dB and the low was 36dB and the sound level that I and several neighbors remember was about 40dB for up until a few years ago.


Here is that link:

Traffic noise levels in the Village of Justice

Fustration.... The Village of Justice in Illinois needs to wake up!

I must be the only one in the entire Village of Justice that keeps track of noise levels.  Talked to even more neighbors that believe the noise levels have increased dramatically over the last few years (they brought it up).  I explained my day job and the project I've been doing, recording traffic noise daily, and we fascinated. It has been amazing how many times I talk to even random neighbors and they mention the traffic noise in the Village.  Sometime the levels of noise are INSANE at Commissioner's Park but hey, it's more important to fine people who walk dogs there than to start some program to reduce the traffic noise (I've recorded 70dB on two occasions at the park).




I took this from: http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-levelchange.htm

Level change	Volume Loudness	Voltage Sound pressure	Acoustic Power Sound Intensity
+60 dB	64	1000	1000000
+50 dB	32	316	100000
+40 dB	16	100	10000
+30 dB	8	31.6	1000
+20 dB	4	10	100
+10 dB	2.0 = double	3.16 = √10	10
+6 dB	1.52 times	2.0 = double	4.0
+3 dB	1.23 times	1.414 times = √2	2.0 = double
- - - - ±0 dB - - - -	- - - - 1.0 - - - - - - -	- - - - 1.0 - - - - - - -	- - - - 1.0 - - - - -
−3 dB	0.816 times	0.707 times	0.5 = half
−6 dB	0.660 times	0.5 = half	0.25
−10 dB	0.5 = half	0.316	0.1
−20 dB	1/4 = 0.25	0.100	0.01
−30 dB	0.125	0.0316	0.001

56 dB traffic noise before 6am on November 2nd 2015

Very high level of traffic noise (No train, No Local Cars driving, No Plane Noise and No Rain) In this 200+ day project of recording sound levels in the Village of Justice, IL. As what could be considered par for the course- the noise is coming from the I-294 direction with only light traffic on Archer rd.  Hard to make light on the subject when one can remember a time that traffic noise was not an issue.



Record of traffic noise

A Whopping 57 dB of traffic noise before 6am in the Village of Justice IL

Highest level of traffic noise (No train, No Local Cars driving, No Plane Noise and No Rain) In this 200+ day project of recording sound levels in the Village of Justice, IL. As what could be considered par for the course- the noise is coming from the I-294 direction with only light traffic on Archer rd.  Hard to make light on the subject when one can remember a time that traffic noise was not an issue.

Hard to believe it can be this loud being 8/10 of a mile away (as a crow flies) from I294



Record of traffic noise

Loudest Month of traffic noise in the Village of Justice, IL.

August 2015 has been the loudest month of traffic noise since I started this project of recorded daily noise levels on March 1st 2015.  August narrowly beat July but again- I wish something would be done about the traffic noise.  We would rather not move, especially for all the time, effort and money we invested in our property.  The amount of traffic noise increased dramatically over the past 5 year!

I seem to be able to tell the next days level the night before.  e.g. last night around 11pm I recorded 51dB.



I just check and have over 2,000 views of my posts on the traffic noise

  Here is a link to part of my database:
Village of Justice, IL. traffic noise

55dB of traffic noise for over 12 hours in the Village of Justice, IL.

Well,

it has been 12+ hours of 55dB of traffic noise in the Village of Justice, Illinois.  Seems unbelievable but it is true!  Can only wish other people will start complaining! 


It has been increasingly frustrating that the quiet village we moved into some 12+ years ago has become a place of no quiet.  We put an incredible amount of time, effort and money for making our very large yard an "oasis" that was close to the city.  Hard to believe that working close to downtown and Lake Shore Drive could be quieter than home.........   Shame on you Village of Justice!

Village of Justice IL Sound levels

A new high in traffic noise in the village of justice IL

So, this past Saturday evening (~8pm) Aug 15th I recorded a new high in traffic noise of 54 dB!  Yes- 54dB is really nothing to be happy about.  By Sunday morning we were down to 52 dB and up to 53 dB at sunday night.  Monday morning ~5:10am was down to 52 dB.


Frankly this is disgusting! We are almost a mile away from the closest highway, hard to believe nobody else has noticed such increases in traffic noises over the past few years. Also, we had our first tremor again in months Friday late afternoon ~4:20pm.



At least I've been keeping track of it....
Sound Levels in the Village of Justice

An amazing afternoon and night of sound levels

So, when I got home from work on the 6th of August- I noticed something special. No traffic noise- AT ALL!   It was amazing and reminded us about the reason we chose to live in the village of Justice.  Now if it could just continue but highly unlikely :(

Village of Justice has similar traffic noise to downtown Chicago

So yesterday evening we went downtown and while sitting at the closest benches to Lake Shore Drive at Buckingham Fountain I pulled out my phone to check the noise level.  The smartphones of today is a powerful tool and as it turns out very accurate in giving sound level measurements.  The phone showed and average reading of 52dB which I checked over several minutes.  52dB reading some ~135ft away from an 8 lane expressway that was quite busy.  Come on Village of Justice Illinois- we should be able to do much better being almost a mile away from the expressways! I do find it odd that the political groups (in the village) that I sent information about this project including some background about myself and an expressed desire about becoming active in the political sphere have not returned any of my emails.  Who knows, maybe they changed the political group name(s) again.  I guess it just gives me the opportunity to express my feelings and data points to the world instead.

Village of Justice traffic Sound levels

Another morning of Crazy loud traffic noise in the Village of Justice IL.

As the title says: Another morning of Crazy loud traffic noise in the Village of Justice IL.  Looks like it maybe time for me to get more political.  54dB this morning and the way it is going, I wouldn't be surprised if we hit 60dB one day.  I tried in the past to get involved in the Village but was given the impression you really need to know someone.  I've contacted at least two parties in the past few election cycles-  both were not interested.  I guess they can do without a person with a strong science background.  My wife doesn't want to move because of all the time we invested in the yard- plus we would still not sell our house for a good price.

Link to sound levels in the Village of Justice IL

More Outrageous Noise in the Village of Justice IL

At about 10pm last night while working on our garage I noticed an increase in the traffic noise.  By 10:30pm it was crazy loud at 55dB, my hope is people actually complain-  Time for the Village of Justice IL to put up or shutup.  What was actually strange was that I could detect the sound moving slowly from east to west over a period of about an hour, by 5:20am the sound was down to 54dB.

Sound Levels in the Village of Justice

Here is another Oddity in the Village of Justice Traffic Noise issue

So the typically traffic noise is around 44.5dB in the morning.  On this past Saturday, lighter traffic day it was 50dB.  Crazy because I cannot attribute it to wet pavement, traffic congestion or anything.  It stayed around 50dB for most of the day and was down to 40dB by evening.  Whereas a typical day, around 5pm the traffic noise is around 40dB.  I can't imagine people in the village of Justice are happy about this noise; especially since this noise was barely noticeable a few years ago. I know for sure I would of never bought my house here if the noise was at this level.


Sound Levels in the Village of Justice

Pure Strangeness on the Traffic noise in the Village of Justice IL.

So I got home yesterday and I noticed pure quiet.  My meter read 35dB which was mostly from songbirds.  It was Amazing and just like we remembered back when we were thinking of putting an offer on the house in 2003.  It was the tail-end of winter and we spent a good couple of hours sitting in the huge backyard on a weekday throughout rush hour trying to figure if this is where we wanted to move, the idea of no traffic noise unlike living in the city was very appealing.   Yesterday, we spent a few hours sitting in the yard thinking how peaceful it was and really we don't wanna move out of the Village of Justice.


Link to the sound measurements:
http://goo.gl/7SFjta

Outrageous Noise in the Village of Justice IL

Sorry this is not a April Fools Day Joke-


Yesterday evening I noticed an increase in the traffic noise coming from I-294 from the quiet/peaceful 38dB when I got home.   By 10pm I measured the sound to be 53dB!  Especially since our house is almost a mile away (0.84). Yes, that it LOUD-  this morning around 5:45 AM I measured it to be 54dB (No train, plane or local traffic could be heard) it was a struggle to hear the birds.

Measures Sound Values in the Village of Justice Illinois

A month into the recording of Sound Levels in the Village of Justice IL.

Strange,


One month in and so far I cannot find a rhyme or reason for the variations in dB from day to day.   What confuses me more is that at midnight it could be 50dB!  It doesn't seem to be precipitation, temp and/or wind direction for variations between 38 to 50dB.  This has peaked my interest in continuing to see how the sound levels get throughout the year.  Who knows- maybe it is just time to move from the Village of Justice IL.  It would be a pure shame as the amount of time and money we invested in out property, a gardeners' dream.  The one thing for sure is the sound has increased over the past few years and if it reaches much higher in the 50 decibel range it can cause permanent damage to one's ears with constant sound.  We really enjoy living in the village- my hope is someone sees this and pushes harder to get not only some answers but for a solution.  I did contact the mayor and building dept, maybe I should start contacting trustees or even print up flyers.

I'm thinking of organizing the data a little better so I could release all of it.  This way anyone could crunch the numbers, so far I've been editing two sheets every morning.  Editing one sheet would be easier- just hope because of so many variables that it wouldn't be overwhelming.



Here is the link:
Sound levels in the Village of Justice IL

Village of Justice Illinois Sound Levels are loud

Village of Justice Illinois Sound Levels-

So,  we noticed about 2 years ago 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. 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. 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 50 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.

Road wetness does make the traffic noise louder.

Village of Justice Sound levels in the morning

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle