This web page is where I will provide information on what I am calling the Sound Transit Tunnel Syndrome (STTS).

The syndrome itself seems to be one that affects many more people than complain of it. Symptoms range from very mild awareness of daytime rumblings in the ground, to nighttime sleep-interrupting thumpings in your home. My efforts on this page are entirely supportive of the Sound Transit(ST) tunnel construction project. I want it to happen. I just don't want to be aware of it happening.

U-Link Montlake Tunnel Vibrations Survey Results

Survey Discussion, sent to public officials, media and others on Jan 1, 2012

First announcement sent to public officials, media and others on Dec 15

Survey Monkey makes it easy to do a survey, easy to look at reports for the survey taker, but hard to share. These PDF files are very good summaries of the filtered survey results, but a bit awkward to have to download and view.

All addresses (n=78)

All responses (n=82 we had 2 responses each from 4 addresses)

Shelby/Hamlin responses (n=10)

Roanoke-Howe responses (n=21)

Boyer Basin responses (n=51)

Sound Transit's 12/23/11 Boyer Basin Report and followup report in Shelby-Hamlin area regarding speed and wooden ties

Objective data proves trains run fast at night and vibrations are getting worse written early on Dec 3.

Latest Blog Posting from the PNSN about ground shock waves vibrations/impulses being set up by supply trains. Note, I misusd the term "shock wave". With help from my tutors in the PNSN, I learned that term applies properly to a nonlinear propagation of vibrational energy, which happens when the material/medium is actually being displaced at velocities near the wave propagation speed. This is not a very likely with seismic waves.

QEMI is a recent Montlake addition to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), part of the USGS NetQuakes monitoring system. Here is a recent PNSN blog post about Sound Transit Tunneling Noise.

Seismograms from QEMI are recording data showing the ST tunnel supply trains. I am working to ensure important data from ST test runs, and regular train passages are archived for eventual analysis of vibration magnitudes. This data will be invaluable in establishing the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.

Are the train vibrations worse this week (12/2/11)? YES, data below are from Nov 23 and today. Just click on them and read the vertical scales.

The peak amplitudes from today are nearly twice that of before Thanksgiving. When you consider that the plot on the right would be twice as large as the one on the left if plotted at the same scale, the entire picture becomes even worse. Something down there has changed in a week. Bigger loads? Tracks degenerating? What is causing this, Sound Transit? The answer isn't going to come from this one seismograph, peoples' complaints, or spotty testing in peoples' houses.

link to Hamlin area vibration and noise report

I redacted identifying information of neighbors from the above report. This report was given to me by one of the affected neighbors. She gave me her permission to share it. I assume I could have gotten it via freedom of information policies from Sound Transit, too.

link to map of affected houses in the "Boyer Basin"

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