Firetruck Noise in Downtown San Diego Area (hotels, home)

[codycortez]

Greetings;

I am wondering if anyone in the forum lives in or around downtown San Diego, and has any opinion regarding the noise from the firetrucks?

When I bring the concept up-- that the noise is a nuisance-- most people dismiss the opinion as irrelevant, because saving lives and putting out fires is more important than one person's peace and quiet. I understand this as well, obviously, but it doesn't necessarily mean the fire station is in the best location.

I work from home in the Cortez Hill area, and need to mute the phone when the trucks go by usually 3- 5 times daily. Looking out of my window, I can see the passerby's and tourists from the hotels also need to cover their ears as the sirens are at a very high decibel.

Okay, so what's the issue? The Fire station #1 was originally placed downtown in 1904. My assumption is there was a lot fewer people living downtown at that time. In my opinion, it's embarrassing for our city to have such high volume of noise in the very heart of the city. I find most of the time the trucks are running, they are departing for the 163, or the 5 and not involved with anything downtown proper. It seems reasonable that the station could be moved out of the city, to a less congested area, where the trucks still maintain a straight and efficient route to the freeway. Perhaps with a relocation, they could find freeway access more quickly, with fewer lights and pedestrians.

A break down of how many fires the station is dealing with and other types of activity is posted below:

Incident Runs (FY 14)
Engine 1 Engine 201 Truck 1
Total 4,604 3,803 1,708
Fire 202 183 212
Medical/Rescue 3,981 3,230 784
Other 402 372 700

You can see most of the truck's activity is not for putting out fires-- which is okay-- but does take away a lot of the argument they need to be in the city center for urgent fire response. It's just one person's opinion, but if anyone else feels the same way, it'd be great to get more attention to the idea of relocating the station.

Thank you,
Downtown San Diego Citizen

[T. Damon]

You have to realize that fire trucks are required to respond to just about any emergency call; bums called in for being passed out on the street/sidewalk included, and unfortunately you are going to get siren activation with most of these calls

[The Flying Dutchman]

I would think that living in Cortez Hill, you would be somewhat insulated from the trucks' sirens. But I suppose 6th ave, B, and A st. would be affected.

I live on Broadway and let me tell you, I'm so grateful to be living 6 stories up and facing inwards away from the noise. I have neighbors who live directly on Broadway and I wouldn't want to be them.

[sdurbanite]

Not sure what you expected when you chose to live downtown. I understand your gripe, and it really would be nice if they relocated the station to an area with quicker egress/ingress, but what about those people who live where the new station would be built? It's just part of city living. Downtown residents already deal with noise from planes, trains and freeways. I'm sure you like being able to walk to concert venues, restaurants, parks, etc, so at least you have that.

[moved]

If you can't deal with the noise, just move.

[codycortez]

Thank you all for the feedback. I understand the nuances that do come with living downtown in a major metropolitan area, and the easy choice for someone who doesn't like the noise level-- move.

There are a few locations South East of Downtown proper that contain much more industry as compared to housing. These areas also offer quick freeway access and quick access along the harbor to bay destinations... It's difficult to keep everyone happy at the same time, however, a relocation to a less crowded, 'noisier' area with more industry as compared to a more crowded, and 'less noisy' place that primarily tailors to living space and businesses might be something to think about.

It would require a mix of pros and cons-- just seeing if there's any similar opinions out there for dialogue. Thanks again for the feedback!

[codycortez]

Thank you all for the feedback. I understand the nuances that do come with living downtown in a major metropolitan area, and the easy choice for someone who doesn't like the noise level-- move.

There are a few locations South East of Downtown proper that contain much more industry as compared to housing. These areas also offer quick freeway access and quick access along the harbor to bay destinations... It's difficult to keep everyone happy at the same time, however, a relocation to a less crowded, 'noisier' area with more industry as compared to a more crowded, and 'less noisy' place that primarily tailors to living space and businesses might be something to think about.

It would require a mix of pros and cons-- just seeing if there's any similar opinions out there for dialogue. Thanks again for the feedback!

[CNYC]

Try living in midtown manhattan !

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Not sure what you expected when you chose to live downtown. I understand your gripe, and it really would be nice if they relocated the station to an area with quicker egress/ingress, but what about those people who live where the new station would be built? It's just part of city living. Downtown residents already deal with noise from planes, trains and freeways. I'm sure you like being able to walk to concert venues, restaurants, parks, etc, so at least you have that.

Bingo! Was not the fire station there when you moved in??

[SnowingInCA]

I live and work from home in Cortez Hill and the sirens are loud when the window is open (when closed its not an issue). At least we don't live next to any train crossing intersections. Some really nice high-rises around Pacific Highway, but I spent a day around the train intersections and found the constant noise from the train crossing to be more annoying than the ambulances and fire trucks. Like the Little Italy station, the train could be dropping/picking up passengers and the whole time the W. Cedar intersection is just 'ding ding ding' for like 4 minutes.

Also I do recognize that at night many of the ambulance drivers coming in to the city will just chirp their sirens when they are coming up on an intersection rather than just keeping it blaring the whole time.