Mitigating the impact of helicopter noise over Cambridge neighborhoods

Over the past several years, Cambridge residents have been voicing their frustration over the intensifying burden that air traffic noise has imposed on their health and wellbeing. Channeling those concerns, residents of this and neighboring communities joined their state and local officials in calling on Massport and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for relief. As recently as September 7, Cambridge Councillors Jan Devereux and Craig Kelley invited residents to voice their frustration and discuss strategies for seeking mitigation, while organizations such as Boston West Fair Skies have been mobilizing residents around dispersing concentrated flight paths for several years. These efforts have in the past focused almost exclusively on airplane traffic. The causes of increased noise over the city from these sources is well known: weather patterns sometimes necessitate more northerly departures that send traffic over Cambridge; construction at Logan International Airport shifts a runway’s load to other lanes; the overall number of passenger flights to and from Boston is increasing, as is the number of flights carrying freight; and most acutely, the implementation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) NextGen Performance Based Navigation (PBN) initiative now directs pilots to use established Area Navigation (RNAV), concentrating flights into so-called “air highways.” Contributing to the cacophony over Cambridge are helicopter flights that, among other purposes, service area hospitals, aid in public safety operations, provide tourists with a bird’s-eye-view of the city, and report on newsworthy events for local networks. Helicopter flights in the latter category tend to be especially disruptive, particularly when they occur during normal sleeping hours. This memo provides information on helicopter activities in the Boston Metro region as they relate to Cambridge’s airspace. Studies of how other cities have tried, and at times failed, to quiet their skies is also provided. A final section looks at the steps Cambridge might take to address the most disruptive helicopter flights that impact residents. Page 2 of 8

2. Helicopter Noise Over Cambridge

The City of Cambridge’s Noise Control Ordinance regulates loud and excessive noise in the city, establishes curfews for certain types of noise, and seeks to “prevent excessive sound and vibration which may jeopardize the health and welfare or safety of its citizens or degrade the quality of life.” Although helicopters may emit noise over residential neighborhoods that exceeds noise ordinance thresholds, the City has no authority to enforce its local ordinance on federally regulated airspace. All airspace from the surface to 7,000 feet and within 8 miles of Boston Logan International Airport is controlled by the airport’s control tower, and the entirety of Cambridge falls under this protected zone. All helicopter operators seeking to fly within this 8 mile radius are understood to contact the control tower at Boston Logan for flight routes and altitude guidance. A map of Boston area routes advises that “routes were established, in part, over low population areas to minimize noise to underlying communities,” and so “Pilots are encouraged to ‘Fly Friendly’ and use the recommended helicopter routes at the maximum altitudes assigned.” These recommendations, however, are not enforceable. As long as pilots follow safety regulations and are licensed, they are generally not restricted from flying wherever they want and for as long as they want. Helicopter routes around Boston are similar to air-highways created by the RNAV system except that, while RNAV uses GPS waypoints for guidance, helicopter traffic is directed to pass through “recommended” routes along recognizable landmarks. Several routes that serve the Boston Metro region pass over or along the borders of Cambridge. Three such routes branch off from the Turnpike Route (PIKER) that follows the Charles River from the Museum of Science to near the River Street Bridge. This is one of the principal east-west corridors over the Boston Metro, and connects to the Fresh Pond Route (FRESH) that brings helicopter traffic over Cambridge. Operators that take the Fenway Route (FENWA) pass south of Cambridge and turn southward at the Longfellow Bridge. The FRESH route extends from the former Allston Toll Plaza, over the Harvard Stadium, and then follows Fresh Pond Parkway and cuts over Fresh Pond before joining the Spy Pond Route (SPOND) and heading west. In addition to these established routes, local heliports, particularly at Boston-area hospitals, also contribute to helicopter noise in the region. Of the seven approved heliports in Boston, five are attached to hospitals: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Tufts This map shows the designated helicopter routes around the Boston Metro Region. Several of these routes, including the PIKER, FENWA, and FRESH route pass either directly over or along the border with Cambridge. Pilots using these routes are encouraged to fly at the maximum altitude recommended by the control tower at Boston Logan, but are not required to do so. Page 3 of 8

Medical Center, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The Boston Globe and WBZ-TV (local CBS station) also have heliports in Boston, the latter in Allston along Soldier Field Road. Somerville also has one heliport along McGrath Highway just north of East Cambridge, a private heliport owned by Herb Chambers. Tourists can also hire helicopter operators for areal views of the city. Helicopter Tour Boston MA/Blue Hill Helicopter offers several tours of local area attractions at varying times of day and night.

“Tour #1 Boston” provides a 25-30 minute tour with views of “Fenway Park, MIT and Harvard,” as well as the Charles River for $325. Likewise, the East Coast Aero Club allows riders to “retrace Paul Revere’s famous ride through Belmont, Arlington, Harvard University, [and] M.I.T.” for $199 per person.

Unlike other helicopter flights that pass over Cambridge on their way to area destinations, local news helicopters may circle a small geographic area—or simply hover—for extended periods of time, making them particularly disruptive to residents. During a house fire earlier this year on Appleton Street in Somerville, one station sent a news helicopter over the densely populated neighborhood near Davis Square in the early hours of the morning.

The helicopter began its flight over Cambridge coming from the south at 4:54 a.m., and continued to fly over Somerville for nearly 25 minutes. Despite the early morning disruption, the station used less than 10 seconds of footage from the flight during their coverage of the blaze. All of Boston’s major networks boast of offering helicopter coverage for major events, including Fox 24 (SkyFox), WBZ-TV (Sky Eye 4), WCVB-TV (Live Sky 5), and WHDH-TV (Sky 7).