Major Construction Projects Completed, CC and WLAC Discuss Noise Mitigation

West Los Angeles College is not the source of noise that it used to be, and the sound blankets and noise walls will be shifting to reflect that soon. The meeting between the college and the city on July 10, 2018 at the Pattaccia Room at City Hall began with a presentation on existing noise barriers on campus and what the future of sound mitigation would look like. The meeting was presided over by WLAC President James Limbaugh and attended by representatives from both the city council and the college.

The major construction on campus is completed, and without the bulldozers and earth movers, sound levels are thought to be much less intrusive to the neighborhood than in the past. The Environmental Impact Report and Facilities Master Plan created in 2005 have both been updated, and the addendum presented to the committee is planned to be the final addition for the EIR on record. Wendy Lockwood, the principal consultant from Sirius Environmental, gave a brief but detailed presentation.

Given the location of the noise monitors and sound barriers through the campus, the reason for the changes were clear. The temporary sound blankets have outlived their need and become unsightly, and removing the temporary barriers will help to clean up the look of the campus borders. The temporary noise barriers that currently border the campus on the west at Freshman Drive and College Boulevard and on the south at Sophomore Drive will be taken down, while the permanent noise barriers will remain in place.

Of the six noise monitors currently in use on campus, four will remain in the north, and one in the west. The additional noise monitor will be available for use where needed.

Council member Goran Eriksson, who serves on the committee along with Council member Alex Fisch, made an insightful inquiry about the possible use of data from the noise monitors to reflect the noise issues currently being discussed with Los Angeles International Airport, and the lawsuit that Culver City is pressing against the Federal Aviation Administration. “Your monitors seem to be directly under one of the flightpaths that we are tracking – would we be able to access this data for the city to use?” The consultant and the representative from the college both agreed to inquire on the legality of sharing the information, and would get the answer back to the committee as soon as possible.

In addition, the campus Safety Office will move to the current site of the Technology Learning Center.

Photo shows arial view of campus and surrounding neighborhoods – credit to WLAC

Judith Martin-Straw

The Actors' Gang

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