Created on Thursday, 19 October 2023, 14:27

As a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located just 8 miles (12.5 km) southwest of LAX containing its own public airfield and in a county with 22 other individual airports, the people of Torrance, California are no strangers to noise caused from aircraft overflights. Based on the number of aircraft overhead, the number of citizens in city limits, and the number of noise monitoring terminals (NMTs) around the airport, Torrance has contracted Casper for a study of the airport noise environment and for recommendations on additional noise monitors.

As part of this project, Casper will be heading a three-month study focused on local noise, land-use, and operations prior to making any recommendations. Using state of the art upgrades to the Casper system already in use at TOA, analysts at Casper are able to cross-reference existing noise data, operations information, and noise complaints to form a comprehensive overview of the noise environment surrounding the airport. At the conclusion of the study, Casper analysts will present a comprehensive report to the City of Torrance. The City will then have the information necessary to confidently make fact-based decisions around adding more noise monitors to the current system. 

The best part: Any additional NMTs constructed can then be automatically integrated into TOA’s NOMS system.

“Due to increase community concerns regarding noise levels at the airport, the City is conducting a new noise study that will look at expanding the current noise monitoring system” – Michelle Ramirez, City of Torrance Community Development Director

What sounds like a simple survey is actually very complex: in addition to analyzing current and historical flight patterns surrounding the airfield, Casper will also be providing a forecast on future operations based on input from City of Torrance Facilities Management team. From there, a series of onsite testing at potential locations will be conducted using two portable noise monitors to test for suitability. Following a 6-8 week testing period, final recommendations by Casper will be made to the Torrance City Council for a final decision on NMT expansion.