Truck Noise and Vibrations in Parts of Cerritos ‘Damaging House Foundations and Popping Light Bulbs’

Residents complain they cannot sleep while household items fall off their shelves.

BY BRIAN HEWS

At a recent Cerritos City Council meeting, Sundance resident  Chris Aafedt spoke at public comment complaining about the constant traffic traveling down Bloomfield after exiting from the 91 freeway. 

Aafedt produced a sound meter he used to measure the noise that indicated the DB levels were between 70 and 90 DB’s. 

“Under federal guidelines,” Aafedt asserted,  “anything over 70 DB’s requires hearing protection.”

HMG-LCCN published a small article about the complaints, which, as the old saying goes, “opened the flood gates.”

The problem can be traced to the closures in and around the 5 freeway forcing trucks traveling westbound on the 91 freeway to exit on Carmenita, driving north on Carmenita to Alondra.

Trucks going eastbound are forced to exit on Bloomfield, turning north to Alondra.

According to residents the trucks are heading to several facilities on the Cerritos-Norwalk border off of Alondra including UPS and a former Vons distribution center.

Residents who live along Carmenita between Artesia and Alondra and in Granada Park near Bloomfield and Alondra are fed up with the noise and vibration and wrote HMG-LCCN demanding something be done about the traffic.

“Dear Sir,” wrote resident H. Woodson, “I have been a resident of the Granada Park Cerritos neighborhood near both Bloomfield and Alondra for 40 years and can personally attest to the vastly increased noise levels. Not only have noise levels increased significantly due to speeding, overloaded trucks traveling across pothole-infested roads, but it has become an issue 24/7, with high levels of truck traffic at all hours of the day and night, every single day of the week, with the possible exception of Sunday morning between 1:00 am and 7:00 am being the only hours of respite.” 

Another resident, S. Bidani who lives on Carmenita, had the same complaint, “I live off of Carmenita Road (close to intersection at Beach), which is NOT a designated truck route. Despite this fact Carmenita faces severe truck noise and traffic. The road has a bike path, and has an elementary school (Stowers) and Middle School (Carmenita Middle) right on it, creating serious safety issues, as these large trucks at times race down Carmenita road to avoid a red signal. This traffic is further causing property damage through significant vibrations it creates, potentially damaging the foundations of the houses.”

Resident Chris Cascone wrote, “Myself and many of my neighbors have emailed or contacted City Council without response. The semi trucks are now 24/7 on Bloomfield and that they are ruining Bloomfield.” 

HMG-LCCN researched and found the following truck routes on codepublishing.com, a site that publishes individual city’s city codes:

1. Artesia Boulevard, between the westerly city boundary and eight hundred feet ± west of Shoemaker Road; 
2. South Street; 
3. Norwalk Boulevard, between the northerly boundary of the Route 91 Freeway and Artesia Boulevard; 
4. Valley View Avenue; 
5. Bloomfield Avenue, between Artesia Boulevard and Alondra Boulevard; 
6. Studebaker Road, from South Street to Alondra Boulevard; 
7. Carmenita Road, between South Street and 183rd Street; 
8. 183rd Street, between Carmenita Road and two hundred feet ± west of Carmenita Road.

The map below illustrates the truck routes:

But the same code sets forth that trucks can travel basically anywhere, “This section shall not prohibit any commercial vehicles coming from an unrestricted street having ingress or egress by direct route to and from a restricted street when necessary for the purpose of making pickups or deliveries of goods, wares and merchandise from or to any building or structure located on the restricted street or for the purpose of delivering materials to be used in the actual and bona fide repair, alteration, remodeling or construction of any building or structure upon the restricted street for which a building permit has been previously obtained.”

HMG-LCCN’s former offices were located at Artesia and Shoemaker. Many times L.A. County Sheriffs were seen pulling over trucks on traveling east or west Artesia between Carmenita Shoemaker because that part of Artesia prohibits truck travel, necessitating truck going east to turn north on Shoemaker and trucks traveling west to turn north on Carmenita.

Regardless, all residents complained  about the lack of action from Cerritos and the Sheriffs.

Woodson wrote, “Enforcement is a joke; the Sheriff’s Department periodically assigns a motor officer to Ash Creek/Bloomfield or (less frequently) Vagnone/Alondra to enforce speed limits. However, the truckers are typically equipped with radar/lidar detectors and so most of the tickets are issued to oblivious drivers of passenger cars that fail to see the motorcycle in time to slow down. I walk my dog daily along both of these major streets, and have regularly observed the trucks traveling at or below the 45 mph speed limit ONLY in the presence of the motorcycle cop and his radar gun.”

Ms. Badani wrote, “The city of Cerritos has turned deaf ears to the several complaints made to them regarding the truck nuisance on Carmenita, which actually is in violation of the City Ordinance that bans trucks on any portion of Carmenita (except the 91 Fwy exit to South St).”

Cascone wrote, “Even after several calls of protest by several people in the area, the city has shown no interest in solving the problem. Yes it is a fact that Bloomfield is a designated truck route but that doesn’t mean that it should continue to cause people to lose sleep and keep their windows closed during the hot summer months without coming to some sort of resolution.”

But it seems that actions of both residents and the article in HMG-LCCN finally got the attention of the City and City Council.

Cascone wrote HMG-LCCN yesterday, Aug. 1, saying, “”You will be happy to hear that the City is contracting with the County of Los Angeles to complete some larger hot patches on Bloomfield. County crews will actually grind and remove approximately 2″ of the asphalt surface of the uneven areas and replace the surface with hot asphalt that will be compacted in place to very closely match the elevations of the existing street surface on all sides”

Officials wrote to the City, “The County work will begin on the southbound lanes of Bloomfield Avenue on May 1. Once the southbound lanes are repaired, the County will proceed with repairs on the northbound lanes. These repairs are more permanent and should greatly alleviate the truck noise. However, some truck noise is typical when living adjacent to a major street.”

Cascone responded, “I find it difficult to believe  that the city council members, who have been elected by us and who’s responsibility is to represent us, find our ability to have a peaceful night’s sleep as being inconsequential. Trucks should not be traveling beyond the hour of 6pm on  Bloomfield Ave.”