Personal issue or legitimate gripe? KIRO hosts debate Bellevue light rail noise complaint

A group of Bellevue residents has claimed that the new Sound Transit 2 Line crossing Lake Washington is violating local noise ordinances and keeping Enatai neighbors up at night.

One homeowner sent a letter to Sound Transit pointing out that the trains reach between 64-83 decibels, running as late as nearly 1 a.m. and beginning again around 4:30 a.m.

KIRO fill-in hosts Angela Poe Russell and Greg Tomlin found that the Bellevue residents may have a warranted case, and agreed that the noise would be “mind-numbingly frustrating.”

“That seems like it would be really frustrating to have that level of noise overnight,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

“Without question, I think they potentially have a very warranted case here,” Tomlin responded. “It would be mind-numbingly frustrating to have to hear this noise all throughout the day. I wonder if they just didn’t predict it was going to be this loud. Did Sound Transit advertise how loud these things were going to be, and did that match what they actually were in the long run? I can’t imagine going from this quiet, serene existence into a [train noise] all day long, incredibly frustrating.”

Light rail noise complaint based on readings under the bridge, not inside bedrooms

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier believed that while the noise would be frustrating, many other Seattle-area residents have been dealing with extremely similar issues for years.

“First of all, I’m sensitive to the fact that you have this new noise in your neighborhood, like that would be incredibly frustrating,” Lanier said. “At the same time, how many neighborhoods has Sound Transit gone through right now? It’s not on a bridge, but it’s still on an elevated track that is going right next to people’s houses.”

Lanier explained how the complaint came from a man who brought out a noise meter to collect how high the decibels were in certain areas, such as directly under the bridge. Lanier noted that collecting data from directly below the train is much different than what is likely being heard in residents’ bedrooms, keeping them up at night.

“He took out jet skis underneath the bridge to record the sound, which is a lot different than being in your bedroom at night,” he said. “He had his noise meter out again outside his house, showing the meter at 65 decibels. This guy says he’s hearing 85 decibels, but he couldn’t show that that was the case. I don’t know if his complaint is legitimate and widely shared, or a personal issue that frankly tens of thousands of people throughout Seattle have accommodated themselves to without hiring an attorney and making a news report out of it.”

Angela noted that there was an effort to make a reasonable request for reducing the number of trains during those late hours, and was open to compromise, but Lanier stated that he was still raising his eyebrows at the complaint.

“I think it’s worth a shot. I also raise my eyebrows anytime a neighbor in Bellevue gets a whole news report about a noise issue that none of the region has expressed,” Lanier said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.