Helicopters Flying Too Low?

It occurred to me that another reason for the severity of the helicopter noise is that they fly much lower in Pasadena compared to elsewhere. The new "quiet knight" helicopters , which the city council has blindly put their faith in b/c some marketing guy came up with a slick name, seem to create even more vibration than the standard vietnam era copters.

So in addition to less helicopters, higher flight patterns Capt. Mulhall!

Organizations Involved with this Issue

For those of you looking to join forces with other Pasadenans on this issue, I am aware of 2 groups organized around this issue. Pasadena DMZ, which has a facebook page at PasadenaDMZ@groups.facebook.com, is focused primarily on helicopter noise in NW Pasadena, but covers the whole city. Pasadenans Against Helicopter Noise is a new meetup group centered on this issue. Their next meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2011 at 7:30 pm at Sabor Coffee Shop on Colorado Blvd. http://www.meetup.com/Pasadenans-Against-Helicopter-Noise/

Helicopter circling for the fourth time tonight

Still Tuesday evening and a police helicopter is circling for the 4th time tonight. I had a late meeting so I didn't get home until 8 pm. It's currently 10:50. By my sketchy math that equals over 1 helicopter circling an hour, and therefore I can only conclude that I live in the most dangerous neighborhood in America. Thanks again PPD.

More Unnecessary Helicopter Noise

I have to laugh. It's an otherwise quiet tuesday night and a police helicopter has been circling my neighborhood for nearly an hour. I have no idea what it could possibly be looking for that can't be accomplished by a ground patrol. Thanks again PPD. I give you a 1 on effectiveness and a 9 on annoyance.

Moved to Madison Heights Adjacent...Helicopters Followed

So I'm now living on Euclid Ave just north of California. Relaxing at home after work for an hour and my apartment was buzzed by 6 pasadena police helicopters between 6:30 and 7:30! Luckily none of them stopped to circle....lot's of crime going on for a Monday night :)

Later in the evening I went out for a 20 minute walk, and amazingly no helicopters overhead, what a nice neighborhood and city, blah, blah, blah. Am I going to make it home helicopter free.....oh, almost! Right as I'm walking up to my door I hear the background vibrations starting.....building for 10 seconds....and then the loud, ear piercing roar...feel those vibrations! And then the familiar fading of the monstrosity for another 15 seconds into eventual silence. Pasadena could be a really great city if the ppd and city council would stop pissing all over it with their police helicopters....someday maybe.

A Typical Weekday Night in Pasadena

Tonight is a good example of the helicopter problem in pasadena. It's a Tuesday night and looking out my window there is not a whole lot going on....except of course for the insane amount of police helicopter activity. You would honestly think a triple murder must have happened within a few blocks of my apartment. Probably 5 or 6 helicopters fly by my apartment within a 1 and 1/2 hour period.

Given the apparent state of emergency that has been declared in old pas, I decide to brave the danger and walk to Gelson's for some evening grocery shopping. And gee, to my utter shock (sarcasm) I find it's just another sleepy tuesday night in pasadena. Where are the squad cars frantically searching for the perp? Where are the fleeing suspects, victims, and passerbys? Nope, just me and a few other pedestrians casually walking to where we're going.

On my 10 minutes to the market, 2 helicopters fly by. No ground presence, no crime activity, nothing. Walking home, another 2 helicopters go by in different directions. Once safely home, 2 more helicopters fly by followed by a third pasadena police department chopper that decides to circle for 10 minutes within a few blocks of my old town apartment. And yes, as I write this post another ppd another helicopter passes by.

I don't know about you, but all I can say is thanks for the police helicopter escort to the grocery store this evening....I couldn't have made it without you!

Why I Decided to Blog about Helicopter Noise in Pasadena

Pasadena is a great city. Having previously lived in west los angeles and woodland hills, I can testify that pasadena has much to offer...great dining and entertainment, historical neighborhoods, and great architecture to name a few. Unfortunately pasadena also has a helicopter noise problem. Specifically, a police helicopter noise problem.

I've lived here since 2007, and I continue to be appalled by the number of helicopters that pass over my home on a daily basis. Compared to other parts of L.A., pasadena easily has 10 times the helicopter traffic. The reason? In the not too distant past, the Pasadena Police Department acquired a large number of helicopters at a discounted price, and after doing so made the policy decision to use them as a first response unit.

You see, police helicopters are almost always used as a backup unit. Officers on the ground respond to a call, and after responding decide if an aerial backup is needed. Not so in pasadena. Because the pasadena police department has an excessively large number of police helicopters relative to the size of the city, when a call comes in for a routine, non-violent crime, the pasadena police department dispatches a helicopter as their first response unit.

So when grandma accidentally sets off the burglar alarm to her house.....here comes a police helicopter. Or when your neighbor joe reports suspicious activity by some high school kids....here comes another police helicopter. Which works out great if all you care about is having the quickest and easiest police response money can buy. However, if your criteria includes quality of life, livability, and/or peace and quiet, it doesn't work out so great.

In fact, it ends up being pretty lousy, negating much of the positive that pasadena has to offer. I've decided to blog about helicopter noise in pasadena with the hope that the other residents voice their opinion on this issue. I think the issue has legs, so to speak....but we'll see. If you feel pasadena has an excessive amount of police helicopter activity, let me and your elected city council person know how you feel.