OUTLINE: 

We are a group of concerned families living in Frontier Estates community, right by Santa Fe Lane and FM 1461 in Prosper, Texas. Our daily lives are being disrupted by the incessant noise pollution and dangerous cut through traffic coming into the community, at high speeds. The unprotected backyards of our homes and an unfinished road surface with several dips and potholes only add to the problem. The noise levels are surpassing 90 decibels as measured by various apps when we observe them from our backyards and all those sound waves are generating excessively forceful winds into the community. 

DETAILS:

Concerns enumerated as a list:

•     HIGH SPEEDS AND SAFETY CONCERNS: Throughout the day, vehicles are pacing way too fast. Sometimes, vehicles shake out of balance at very high speeds due to the dips, uneven surfaces, and holes in the road. Vehicles turning into the community to cut through from Frontier to Preston are entering at speeds greater than 25 mph and continuing at excessive speeds through Cheyenne Dr where school buses stop in the mornings and afternoons, endangering the kids and parents who may be crossing the street. In fact, multiple accidents already occurred around this corner and on FM 1461, witnessed by our community residents and 1-2 of them, also involved residents living here. The homes on Santa Fe Ln with backyards exposed to FM 1461 are at risk of a speeding vehicle losing control, veering off the road, and coming through the thin wrought iron fences that we have.

•     PRIVACY CONCERNS: With the requirement of having wrought iron fences on the backyards that back up against City of Prosper property, we have no privacy in any of the backyards on Santa Fe Ln. As the road is expanded and traffic flow increases, this will lead to more people passing these homes and seeing into the backyards. This lack of privacy is preventing residents from being able to comfortably utilize their backyard for things such as swimming, playing with their children, eating a meal outside, and many other activities.   

•     EXESSIVELY LOUD NOISE SCARING YOUNG CHILDREN: There have been instances where young children playing in the backyards along Santa Fe Ln and Frontier Pkwy are scared by the extremely loud vehicles that pass by on Frontier Pkwy and either run to their parents or go inside and stop playing outside altogether. As mentioned elsewhere, there are motorcycles, suped up sports cars, and heavy machinery vehicles that pass by and generate sound at such a high level that it is frightening children and others living in the homes.  

•     EXPONENTIAL INCREASE OF TRAFFIC: Heavy duty trucks whooshing with high pitches, construction vehicles, 18 wheelers, and motorcyclists with heavy low-pitched noises already generate constant noise. As the road expands from 2 lanes to 4, this noise will likely only increase due to increasing flow of traffic unless appropriate measures of traffic calming are implemented and enforced by TxDot and City of Prosper. We have measured that at times there are already as many as 50 vehicles per minute that travel by our homes on this road. Extrapolated out, that’s 60,000 in a day and almost 22 million in a year. 

•     SLEEP DISTURBANCE AND HEALTH CONCERNS: Multiple families on Santa Fe Ln and Tombstone Ave are concerned with the health hazards (blood pressure & circadian rhythm issues in future) that this noise pollution is already causing. The ability of our neighborhood’s kids to enjoy a peaceful & playful environment in afternoons and evenings is being inhibited by both the noise levels of the traffic and the amount of cut through traffic that we are getting. There is no off-peak time noticed on FM 1461 except for 3 hours in the night. Construction and racing motor vehicles start off the day right around 445 am in the morning and continue till past midnight. Here is a link to an NIH article about the health issues related to traffic noise at night: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5750910/ 

•     DIRECT VIOLATION OF TX quiet and peaceful enjoyment laws by City of Irving and TxDot - Vehicles generating more than 50 dB between 10 pm and 7 am. ARTICLE CITED: https://www.cityofirving.org/2137/Noise-Ordinance#:~:text=Prima%20facie%20evidence%20of%20unreasonable,a%20violation%20of%20this%20chapter

•     SLOPE: The downward slope of FM 1461 coming towards our community from the stop light at Preston and Frontier is causing vehicles to pass Santa Fe trail at high speeds which poses a threat to vehicles trying to turn onto FM 1461 from within the community and to the home at 1641 and other homes at the corner of Santa Fe trail. Vehicles are frequently passing at speeds greater than 60 MPH. 

•     CRAZY WINDS: The speed at which larger vehicles are driving on Frontier Pkwy is generating strong winds that hit the sides of the houses on Sante Fe Ln. This is waking kids and elderly folks up from deep sleep creating many issues. As previously mentioned, due to the constant flow of traffic, this is happening all hours of the day and night.  

•     SCHOOL INTERSECTION AT RISK: During drop off and pick up hours, the intersection of Coit and FM 1461 is a crucial junction for lots of school buses and cars. The heavy-duty vehicles racing at high speeds pose a high risk at that junction. A speed limit of 50 mph is not appropriate for a junction at Coit and Santa Fe Trail.

•     EXPANSION CONCERNS: Expansion of FM 1461 into more lanes will lead to an increase in traffic flow which will further exacerbate all of these problems.

 

CALL FOR ACTION: We urge TxDot and local authorities in Prosper to take immediate action. 

•     Implement ‘Stop’ signs at critical junctions immediately (Santa Fe Trail and FM 1461)

•     Build a safety wall that will also function as a noise barrier: Address noise, safety and vibration concerns against the homes and community by building a barrier wall along FM 1461 between the road and the Frontier Estates homes on Sante Fe Ln. In driving around our area, we have noticed that the cities of McKinney, Allen, Frisco, Little Elm, and parts of Plano all have barrier walls between residential back yards and main streets. We don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t have a similar barrier wall for protection and noise reduction. 

•     Reduce speed limits to less than 30 mph on FM 1461 in both directions and install signposts, so vehicles turning into the community can turn in at reasonable speeds and under control (the limit on Santa Fe Trail is shown as 25 mph but the speed limit for 1461 is 50 mph and vehicles are currently turning into the community at speeds reaching 45 mph).

•     Put out speed measuring boards to let vehicles notice their cruising speeds.

•     Hold Law enforcement officer duty schedules to help calm the traffic significantly.

•     Install more ‘Stop’ signs and ‘Children at play’ sign boards inside the community. 

•     Smooth and finish the road surface and fill the dips so vehicles are not running out of balance and the noise decibels are reduced.

•     Stop the expansion of this road to 4 lanes at least around Frontier Estates community, as there is no room for expansion. Expansion to a road that wide will intrude into the residences along Santa Fe Ln. 

 

We believe these solutions will not only reduce noise pollution but also make our streets safer for everyone - pedestrians, cyclists, children playing outside - everyone who calls this neighborhood home.

SUPPORTING MATERIAL: All relevant pics, videos, decibel ratings, speed measurements are enclosed as supporting material. 

Please sign this petition if you support safer roads with less noise pollution in Prosper.