Wood Dale wants to limit unwanted noise
The O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission defines noise as "unwanted sound," and Wood Dale doesn't want any more noise then it already gets.
With a new southern runway being constructed at O'Hare International Airport, city leaders want to how much additional unwelcome noise will be created.
To get that information, the city officials and members of the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission have agreed to install temporary and permanent noise monitoring devices in the city.
Some Wood Dale officials were surprised to learn that a monitoring device already is being used in the city's industrial park.
"That's how unobtrusive these things can be," said Police Chief Frank Biniewicz who attended meetings to determine the placement of future monitors.
"They basically look like the cable boxes around the city," he said. "But they're elevated and out of direct sight."
Alderman Eugene Wesley said he welcomes the plan to install another permanent monitor, which will be placed on a utility pole at the northwest corner of Grove Avenue and Center Street.
"We know that the new runway will be right over us when it comes on line," Wesley said.
"So we need these monitors up so we can tell what the increase will be when it happens," he added. "And we'd like to eventually have several more in the community."
The Wood Dale Park District also has allowed a temporary monitor to be installed, from January through April, at the Water Park.
Biniewicz, who is a licensed pilot, said it is important to monitor decibel levels now so those levels can be compared when the new flight path is operational.
"Most airplanes make noise when they're departing," he said. "So if the decibel levels jump off the charts on these departing flight paths, we can take some corrective action.
"That could include modifying the departure paths or having the planes climb higher faster to shorten our exposure time," Biniewicz added.
Nearly 40 monitors already are in place in communities as close as Rosemont and as far away as Rolling Meadows.