Carol De Vita: Noisy compromise needed

As a resident of downtown Raleigh, I read with interest the Aug. 30 news article “Downtown under the influence” on late-night drinking in downtown Raleigh.

I was particularly struck by the comment made by Matt Duncan, a 30-year-old graphic designer who lives in Five Points, who said: “You don’t hear people who live near the airport complaining about airplanes.” Actually, people who live near airports do complain about airplane noise.

Before moving to Raleigh, I lived in Alexandria, Va., which is adjacent to Washington-Reagan airport. Air traffic noise was so bothersome to local residents that we got the airport authority to restrict noise levels, particularly between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Try getting a flight out of Reagan airport around 11 p.m. or midnight. You’ll find very few, if any.

Another comment in the article that “residents should adjust to the businesses, not the other way around,” is just foolish. To make Raleigh a vibrant and livable city, we need genuine cooperation and compromise by all parties, not grandstanding bravado, to resolve this noise-level dispute.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Carol De Vita: Noisy compromise needed."