Many sections of the SF General Plan reference the city's respect for quiet residential neighborhoods. The Inner Mission, Potrero Hill and the Bayview do not need the added danger and noise of a helicopter hub in our neighborhoods.
There are many schools in the area: children need sleep and quiet classrooms in order to learn. Churches, hospitals and nursing homes also have a right to a quiet environment. In fact, SFGH has signs if front saying 'QUIET HOSPITAL ZONE'.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health has found that noise from traffic is putting nearly 1 in 6 San Francisco residents at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and other stress-related illnesses.
Noise - especially at night - can keep people awake, adding to their stress level. And that, in turn, can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and digestive problems, said Rivard, pointing to findings by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
San Francisco Noise Map:
Here is additional important documentation around noise:Comparative Noise Levels:
- Noise Map [as seen above];
- San Francisco General Plan - Transportation Noise;
- Guidelines for Community Noise - World Health Organization;
- Effects of Noise on the Health and Welfare - San Francisco County;
- Noise, Sirens, and Health - San Franciso Department of Health;
- Land Use Chart - Community Noise;
- Noise Effects Handbook - Environmental Protection Agency.
[Each 10-decibel increase in sound level is approximately a doubling of loudness.]
Sound Decibel Level Time Permitted Rustling Leaves 20 dB No Limit Whispering 25 dB No Limit Library 30 dB No Limit Refrigerator 45 dB No Limit Average Home 50 dB No Limit Clothes Dryer 60 dB No Limit A clothes dryer sounds twice as loud as the ambient noise in an average home. Washing Machine 65 dB No Limit Car 70 dB No Limit A car engine sounds twice as loud as a clothes dryer. Busy Traffic 75 dB No Limit Mini Bike 80 dB No Limit Mini-bike another doubling of perceived sound. Electric Shaver 85 dB No Limit Screaming Child 85 dB 8 Hours Screaming child again twice as loud as the mini-bike, another 100% increase. Passing Motorcycle 95 dB 8 Hours Jack Hammer 100 dB 2 Hours Jackhammer another doubling of the noise level. Helicopter 105 dB 1 Hour Helicopter is 50% louder than a jackhammer.