Noise Abatement

Noise Monitoring

Massport has strategically placed 30 noise monitoring stations throughout the Boston metropolitan area to gather data and minimize the impact of noise from Boston Logan International Airport on the community. These stations collect daily readings using sensitive noise monitors capable of distinguishing the sound of passing planes thousands of feet overhead from the everyday traffic noise at ground level.

The results of these readings help Massport to monitor flight tracks, respond to community complaints, better understand the daily impact of Boston Logan on surrounding communities, and participate more effectively every year in the revision of Boston Logan’s noise contours by verifying the accuracy of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) noise model, the Aviation Environmental Design Tool.

Massport has made significant progress in minimizing noise over the years. Mitigation measures like nighttime restrictions on operations and noise abatement departure turns have dramatically decreased the exposure in the communities that surround Boston Logan.

The FAA has determined that an annual noise level of 65 dB DNL or higher is incompatible with residential areas. Massport has been tracking the number of people within the 65 DNL contour since 1987. In 1987, it was estimated that the total number of people exposed to more than the annualized 65 DNL was about 67,000. Reflecting the adoption of new engine technology and the reduction of the overall number of flights at Boston Logan, the population exposed to levels of noise in excess of 65 DNL decreased to 3,947 in 2011.

Noise Monitor Locations

Boston Logan Noise Monitoring Overhead Map
  1. Union Park Street Playground, South End
  2. B and Bolton, South Boston
  3. Day Blvd. near Farragut, South Boston
  4. Bayview and Grandview, Winthrop
  5. Harborview and Faun Bar, Winthrop
  6. Somerset near Johnson, Winthrop
  7. Loring Road near Court, Winthrop
  8. Morton and Amelia, Winthrop
  9. Bayswater near Annavoy, East Boston
  10. Bayswater near Shawsheen, East Boston
  11. Selma and Orient, East Boston
  12. East Boston Yacht Club
  13. East Boston High School
  14. Jeffries Point Yacht Club, East Boston
  15. Admiral's Hill, Chelsea
  16. Bradstreet and Sales, Revere
  17. Carey Circle, Revere
  18. U.S.C.G. Recreational Facility, Nahant
  19. Smith Lane, Swampscott
  20. Pond and Towns Court, Lynn
  21. Tremont near Prescott, Everett
  22. Magoun near Thatcher, Medford
  23. Myrtlebank near Hilltop, Dorchester
  24. Cunningham Park near Fullers, Milton
  25. Squaw Rock Park, Quincy
  26. Hull High School near Channel St., Hull
  27. Boston Latin Academy, Roxbury
  28. Southbourne Road, Jamaica Plain
  29. Lewenburg School, Mattapan
  30. Piers Park, East Boston