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What’s All the Noise About?

Sep 222017

Have you heard jets flying low and loud over your house, children’s school, or workplace, sometimes every 2 min or less, sometimes in the middle of the night or early morning? This noise is due to changes by the FAA in March under a program called NextGen, which concentrates air traffic in narrow corridors. As a result, virtually all SFO-bound flights from the South, West, and North converge over Palo Alto using trajectories that often cause substantial noise damage to residents.

Palo Alto has been disproportionately impacted. 3 of the 4 main routes into SFO now converge over Palo Alto. In the last 8 years, SFO arrival traffic increased by only 28%, while arrival traffic for the lowest and noisiest flights (3000-4000 feet) over Palo Alto went up a whopping 131%. In the last 2 years alone, the number of low flights (3000-4000 feet) over Palo Alto increased by 65% while nearby communities saw substantial reductions in low elevation air traffic.

Why should you care?

Many low flying aircraft degrade your health, productivity, and quality of life (as well as your children’s and other loved ones’) resulting in:

Sleep disruption, stress, and exposure to pollutants such as carcinogenic aromatic hydrocarbons from aircraft exhaust emissions that undergo chemical changes in sunlight
Decreased ability to concentrate for learning and working purposes
Reduced ability to enjoy the outdoors
Aircraft traffic also impacts property values.

We want the FAA to:

Include noise and emissions as critical design inputs for arrival and departures routes.
Distribute noise equitably over populated areas when it cannot be eliminated.
Adopt more meaningful noise assessment methods on the ground.

What YOU can do!

File noise complaints with SFO in one click with stop.jetnoise.net
- Login once through Gmail or Facebook (stop.jetnoise does not see or store your password but will email
  complaints to SFO on your behalf). Create an icon on your phone or computer home screen for easy access.
- We prefer that you use stop.jetnoise.net because it is simple, gives you flight data, and makes it easier to roll
  up and analyze complaints.
- At least one click per day to keep the planes away: one complaint from 100 different people carries much
  more weight than 100 complaints from one person.
Contact Congresswoman’s Eshoo’s office (eshoo.house.gov/contact; 408-245-2339) to demand that she
make addressing this issue a top priority. In addition, fill out her SFO noise survey (tinyurl.com/nlpne5a)
Visit the Sky Posse Palo Alto website (skypossepaloalto.org) and get involved:
- add a personal note to this flier and distribute it in your neighborhood.
- sign our petition to reduce jet noise over Palo Alto (click the Sign petition! icon)
- join our mailing list (click Join our mailing list on the website)
- follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/skypossepa) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/skypossepaloalto )
Sign the petition to ask airlines to spend less than $5000 per jet to retrofit their Airbus A320
series with airflow deflectors to stop the loud “whistling” sound (bit.ly/1OJAVok) as required in Europe.

Safety and Security at Barron Square

rules No Responses »

Sep 152017

We have a number of new residents in Barron Square and it may be a good time to remind everyone about some of the important safety and security rules for use of the clubhouse, pool and spa areas.

State law requires that the pool area be closed with secure gates, to prevent small children from entering alone. Over the summer we installed new security gates with digital locks at the West and North entrances to the pool area. Now we have added gate alarms to prevent people from blocking the gate so it cannot close. If a gate is left open for more than one (1) minute a loud alarm will sound. Once the gate is closed the alarm will stop.

We remind you that ALL children under the age of 14 MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT RESIDENT 18 years of age or older.

A copy of the rules for use of the pool and the spa/sauna areas is available. In particular you should note that:

Glass bottles and breakable containers are STRICTLY PROHIBITED in the pool area, including the upper deck.
SMOKING is NOT PERMITTED anywhere in the clubhouse, pool, or spa/sauna areas.
The hours for use of the pool/spa areas are 8AM to 10PM (Sun – Thurs) and 8AM to 11PM (Fri – Sat).

The key fobs you received for entrance to the clubhouse and pool areas, tennis court and the El Camino gate are registered in your name. You should not loan your fob to anyone else. If you lose your fob, contact CIMS Management for a replacement.

With regard to security, there have been recent incidents of a non-resident entering the pool area or loitering in the area near the tennis court. In general the best protection is everyone’s awareness to strangers in the area. Thain Way is a public street and we can’t prevent non-residents from parking there. But if someone enters into the private areas of our complex, either stop them and ask them to explain why they are there OR if you feel threatened by them or observe criminal behavior, call 911 for police assistance.

Avenidas Village Meet and Learn

meetings No Responses »

Jun 122017

BPA MEET & LEARN EVENT

AvenidasVillage
Discover the Aging in Place Membership Program

Vickie Epstein, Avenidas Village Program Director and
Bruce Heister, Former Chair, Avenidas Board of Directors

Launched in October 2007, AvenidasVillage is an aging in place program that provides members with many of the benefits of living in a retirement community while they remain in the homes they love.
Join us as we discover more about the resources, assistance and services provided by the village. Hear about the History and Overview of the Village and get perspective from current members.

Attendance is free but this event is limited to 25 attendees.
PLEASE RSVP on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bpa-meet-and-learn-avenidas-village-tickets-35030681712

Catherine Hendricks is presenting this event organized by the Barron Park Association.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: CATHERINE HENDRICKS: FRENCHREALTOR@GMAIL.COM OR 650 245 5094

Deck Replacement Project Update

news No Responses »

Mar 112017

We have begun receiving bids from contractors for the replacement of the 8 decks which were identified as needing repair during the dryrot/painting project. Our consulting firm, Richard Avelar and Associates, apologized for the unexpected delays caused by the holiday season and year-end procedures. They have now finished the architectural drawings and the bid specifications and will conduct a bidders walk-through and collect the bids. Given the size of the project, estimated at $110,000, the Board is obligated to obtain competitive bids on the project. The Board will establish an upper limit for the project cost at the March meeting and then require only a short executive meeting to finalize the selection of the contractor. We understand the inconvenience experienced by our residents and are moving as quickly as possible to resolve the issue.

Recent Property Damage and Vandalism

news, rules No Responses »

Mar 112017

The Board has recently received communications from residents regarding instances of property damage and vandalism.

The complaints of property damage are related to inappropriate use of the common areas and facilities. In one case a resident reported that the legs of the chairs which had been located in the tennis court had been broken off, apparently by some youngsters using the chairs for goal posts for soccer practice. In the second case a resident reported that a number of children had been using the common green area between buildings for a playing field, causing damage to the landscaping, shrubbery and possibly the irrigation system and disturbing the neighbors.

It has to be emphasized that Barron Square has NO DESIGNATED PLAYING AREAS and the common areas are NOT intended for this purpose. Juana Briones Park is a short walk down Maybell Avenue and has excellent facilities for these activities. The use of the tennis court is RESTRICTED to members of Barron Square who wish to play tennis.

We have also received reports of vandalism to vehicles parked in the vicinity of the cul-de-sac. Given the proximity of this area to El Camino Real, the Association will be adding additional security measures to the fences and gates at the end of the fire lane. We have also requested a bid to increase the height of the property line fence with the adjacent property.

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