WebTrack demo praised by staff; Millbrae residents say the tool misses ‘in‑back’ runway noise

SFO’s noise office demonstrated the WebTrack noise-and-flight tracker at the Feb. 5 roundtable meeting, showing live flight paths, noise-monitor locations and historical playback. Staff said the tool is accessible via mobile or desktop and that SFO collects third‑party data (for example, stopjetnoise.net) monthly for integration.

During public comment, Millbrae resident Anne Schneider told the roundtable that WebTrack “works great when the airplane is above you. It does not work when you are behind the airplane,” and said recent runway adjustments have shifted noise into residential areas behind runways, affecting Millbrae and Hillsborough. Schneider said three or four nights a week she experiences multiple takeoffs between about 2:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. that peak above 75 dB at her home and that those events are not adequately represented in the system’s reporting for mitigation program eligibility.

Why it matters: Residents living immediately behind runways say current federal measurement protocols and the WebTrack display do not capture the specific noise impacts they experience, which affects eligibility for FAA-funded mitigation programs.

Features demonstrated Noise staff walked members through the WebTrack interface: map layers, aircraft tags, trailing flight paths, selectable noise-monitor circles (the office operates 29 monitors along the peninsula), historical playback and an option to file a noise report tied to a map location. Staff said the tool includes a weather panel and an app for mobile users and that third‑party citizen reporting such as stopjetnoise.net is accepted monthly and incorporated into the system.

Resident concerns Anne Schneider (public comment) said FAA noise counting methods exclude “noise in back of the runways,” which she said reduces the number of Millbrae homes that qualify for airport mitigation; she asked how the tool will help residents who live two blocks from the runway and who report sustained, high-decibel events at night. Noise staff responded that WebTrack can show flight trails and tagged events, that the system is accessible on phones and computers, and that the roundtable receives monthly data from third‑party reporting websites but does not fund them.

Next steps Noise staff said updated flight-quiet reports are being completed and posted to the SFO website. Chair and members discussed continuing ground‑based noise work; some members asked for more frequent ground-based noise meetings than the current twice‑a‑year cadence to better track local, near‑runway impacts.