'Nightmare' of noise mars peace of paradise

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

Dwight Borje of Honolulu Disposal Service picks up trash in Waikiki. Rubbish trucks are just one of the factors adding to the constant din that health officials say is becoming a problem in areas outside urban Honolulu. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Hawai'i's air is alive with the sounds of roosters, construction, barking dogs, rumble strips, hotel air conditioners, helicopters, boom boxes, car alarms, leaf blowers, mopeds and GoPeds, jumbo jets, beeping trucks and fireworks.

"It's a serious problem and getting worse," said Les Among, a member of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board. "Traffic and noise and they're both tied up with each other to create a nightmare."

And concerns about noise are spreading beyond Waikiki and urban Honolulu to the Neighbor Islands and suburbs such as Hawai'i Kai.

The state Health Department, which monitors official noise complaints, says its staff spends an increasing amount of time in formerly quiet areas.

"We have to fly them all over the place, including more on Maui and Kona, where there seems to be more development going on," said Russell Takata, head of the department's Noise, Radiation and Indoor Air Quality Branch.

An average of 487 noise complaints a year have been reported in the past 11 years. After seven years of decline between 1992 and 1999, complaints rose sharply between 1999 and 2000 but dipped last year to 374 official complaints, the second-lowest total since 1992.

It is unclear whether the recent drop in complaints has to do with a decrease in noise or a perceived lack of enforcement.

While the Health Department responds to official complaints, it no longer has the resources to actively monitor the streets for loud automobiles or other recurring nuisances, Takata said. Once it receives a complaint, the department responds by sending investigators who first ask offenders to tone down the noise. If they don't comply, companies can be fined. Last year, the department issued four fines, ranging up to $3,000, said Daryn Yamada, a supervisor in the department's noise section.

Other noise complaints go to other agencies. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration handles aircraft noise, the Honolulu Liquor Commission deals with noise from late-night bars, and police enforce rules on loud cars, boom boxes and noisy animals. Barking dogs alone account for about 200 complaints a month, police said.

By far the largest source of complaints are about construction and industrial sites, such as industrial air conditioners or loading docks, Takata said.

Construction, such as that at the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club site at the Kapi'olani superblock, add to the cacophony of noise in the area. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Elected officials spend an increasing amount of time dealing with noise issues.

In the past year, the Honolulu City Council has passed or discussed new bills dealing with noise caused by gas-powered scooters, vendors in Chinatown, roosters in residential areas, speed bumps and other traffic-calming devices, and barking dogs. At the Legislature this year, bills were introduced to regulate or control noise from leaf blowers, lawn mowers, backup beepers, airplanes and car alarms.

Even nature can be a distraction, with the Big Island plagued by an influx of coqui frogs, whose loud, piercing calls (90 to 100 decibels) heard at a distance of 18 inches are comparable to the noise produced by a lawn mower, table saw or helicopter. In their native Puerto Rico, the frogs are said to be beloved by islanders who enjoy their graceful melody at bedtime, but in Hawai'i the noise has prompted complaints.

Although no statistics are kept on the location of complaints, Yamada said they increasingly are spreading as development on O'ahu reaches into formerly rural areas and new residential areas such as Kapolei and Waipi'o.

But Waikiki remains the center of noise concerns, officials agree.

"I get more complaints about noise there than anything else, by far," said City Councilman Charles Djou, whose district includes Waikiki. "And it's not just from residents. It's from tourists who come with an idyllic vision of Hawai'i and can't seem to get a good night's rest here. That doesn't bode well for the tourist industry."

Complaints about Waikiki's construction, traffic and late-night bar noise can sometimes be found on Internet Web sites that advise travelers on where to go and stay.

"Construction noise is devastating," one contributor to TripAdvisor wrote about his hotel. "Pounding, scraping, and worst of all chipping hammer sounds from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Even outside the building you could barely carry on a conversation."

Residents say the noise is something that can be lived with — to a point.

"There's some sacrifices that we make to live in Waikiki and one of them is a certain tolerance for noise," said Tom Brower, a Neighborhood Board member who lives on the 27th floor of a condominium on 'Ena Road. "The biggest concern is noise late at night from the bars, car alarms and back-up beepers on trucks making deliveries."

Djou said he has asked police to step up enforcement of noise violations and that they have responded with more citations for noisy vehicles and loud bar patrons.

"We do get a lot of complaints from people worried about idling tour buses, passing motorcycles and mopeds," said Lt. Wesley Wong, the administrative officer for the Waikiki district. "We're trying to do what we can, but it would be better if the laws had more teeth in them."

Instead, residents are turning to private companies for relief.

"We're seeing a rise in complaints and inquiries," said Dave Adams, an acoustical engineer who works with residents to reduce noise in homes and apartments.

Recent health studies suggest that living with constant noise can add to a person's stress and cause health problems. Recent research has found that people living near noisy roads may have chronic high blood level of two stress-causing hormones which can increase the risk of hypertension, osteoporosis and stress ulcers.

Some of the noise-control measures, though, can be expensive, unsightly or inconvenient, he said.

"Jalousie windows are some of the worst for noise, but sealing up your house with air conditioning spoils the enjoyment of the trade winds," Adams said. Building a wall in front of a home can cut down traffic noise, but to be effective it also has to block all sight lines of a house, he said.

Erik Zwerling, head of the Noise Technical Assistance Center at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said people who complain about noise should sometimes examine their own behavior first.

"Part of the reason Waikiki is so noisy is that every one wants to go there," said Zwerling, who visited Hawai'i several years ago to train local officials involved with noise regulation enforcement. "Others shouldn't be so quick to judge. Do they use a quiet electric lawn mower on their lawn? Does their apartment have a yard service that uses a leaf blower? It's not just Hawai'i. Unfortunately, it's all the same: Phoenix, Seattle, Florida or Honolulu. Basically we're a mechanized society and that means noise."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.