HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 95-52 RESOLUTION NO. 95-52
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA
RELATING TO FREEWAY NOISE
WHEREAS, the California State Route 85 Freeway was opened for
traffic through the City of Saratoga in October 1994, and
WHEREAS, noise mitigation measures designed into the freeway in the
form of a depressed profile and sound walls have been effectively
negated by the choice of road surface treatment ordered by the
State of California Department of Transportation in that grooved
concrete rather than ungrooved asphalt was specified, and
WHEREAS, this decision was made over the objection of the funding
agency, the Santa Clara County Traffic Authority, and without the
knowledge or consent of the City as signatory to the Freeway
Agreement with the State Department of Transportation, and
WHEREAS, the City has now learned that studies existed at the time
that this freeway design decision was made which showed that the
use of grooved concrete as opposed to ungrooved asphalt can cause
a significant increase in noise from the roadway surface and that
the State Department of Transportation was either ignorant of such
studies or chose to ignore them without proper consultation with
the City or the Traffic Authority, and
WHEREAS, recent independent research of the effects of sound
reflection has demonstrated that retaining walls used in depressed
profile sections of freeways, when used in combination with sound
walls, creates a noise plume above the roadway surface which
travels over the adjacent sound walls, negating the noise
mitigation effects of the sound walls, and
WHEREAS, the current freeway noise mitigation standards of the
Federal Highway Administration and the Environmental Protection
Agency fail to account for the noise variance from road surfaces
and fail to account for design profile effects on noise which could
be effectively mitigated through design choices which, when taken
together, could be applied to minimize freeway noise in urban
residential areas, at little or no additional cost to the project,
and
%.
WHEREAS, current technological and design applications should be
undertaken on a demonstration basis to determine whether federal
noise mitigation standards should be modified for new freeway
design and for freeway retrofit to account for the application of
current known noise reduction technology and design, and
WHEREAS, California State Route 85 through the City of Saratoga is
the preferred location for a demonstration project because of the
extensive pre freeway and post freeway noise studies which have
already been completed which would provide the best benchmark of
the effects of noise reduction strategies on depressed profile
freeways where retaining walls are used and the freeway location is
in a completely urbanized residential corridor.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the representatives of the 14th
and 15th Congressional Districts of California and the members of
the United States Senate from California, are urged to sponsor
legislation to provide for a demonstration project of a section of
California State Route 85 in Saratoga to test the application of
current technology and design methods to achieve maximum noise
reduction from freeways where urban residential conditions exist.
The above and foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the
Saratoga City Council at an adjourned regular meeting held on the
21st day of November, 1995, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Burger, Moran, Tucker, Wolfe and Mayor Jacobs
NOES: None
ABSENT: Non e
Mayor
ATTEST:
Deputy C le