Letter to the Editor: New Freeway Noise Distresses Local Artist

By Mary Ford

My name is Mary Ford and I am a landscape . I moved to Santee in 2000 from Colorado and purchased a home on the south side of the hill in so I could have a view of the airport, as I am a private , plus I could have a studio in my home where I could fulfill my dream of being a full time painter. I have a BA in Fine Art and Education, a Master's Degree in Art History, and teach a course in Drawing and Color at .

When I moved here, I renovated my entire home from top to bottom, inside and out, updating everything and creating a studio and gallery area. It was my sanctuary. I have a deck on the south side of my home that overlooks the airport with a beautiful view of the El Cajon valley. Take a moment to look at my video of where I live in Santee (in media box), and what I say will make more sense.

As you can see in my video, the noise is deafening and there is NO sound wall between the and my home. My sound meter registers between 70-80+ dB and louder when motorcycles, sports cars, or big trucks pass by.

In 2008 at a home owner’s meeting in our clubhouse, I asked the speaker, Dan Martin, the SANDAG Project Implementation manager for the SR-52 expansion, if there would be an effective sound wall for my house? He reassured me there would be, as CALTRANS was going to build a berm and/or a sound wall, whatever we wanted. He said they had all kinds of new materials now that absorb almost 100  percent of the noise, like they use in theaters. So I decided not to move, based on what he said.   

CALTRANS has basically built an amphitheater with a below my home. The noise is so loud I have to wear ear plugs and a noise-canceling headset all day long and ear plugs while I sleep. I cannot leave open the doors or windows to let in fresh air or sit on my deck and enjoy the view or listen to the birds sing, because the noise hurts my head and ears. I can no longer invite friends over for dinner or a BBQ or have my family come and stay, due to the level of noise.   

What can I do? I was raised in the Midwest and taught to believe that a person's word should mean something. I emailed Mayor Randy Voepel on April 11th, but no response. I am beginning to understand how David must have felt when he was facing Goliath.