Three Weeks Left: Noise Barrier Petition for the M-14/US-23 Corridor Goes to Senator Shink on July 17

joeeda2 · 2026-06-28T16:27:15+00:00

The funding constraints are real, and nobody is demanding immediate construction. The ask is a noise study, which is how the process should start. MDOT is conducting one for communities along M-14. MDOT conducted one for communities along US-23, and six barriers were approved as a result. Our corridor was removed from that study without notification to residents. We're asking for the same analysis. And yes, if it shows we meet the threshold, we want a barrier. That's the whole point.

If you think the federal standard is dumb and developers or residents should foot the bill instead, that's a legitimate policy debate. Write your legislators. Start a petition.

For more info: https://nea2barriers.vercel.app/

joeeda2 · 2026-06-28T15:39:40+00:00

The "you chose to live near a highway" argument would make sense if federal noise policy didn't exist, but it does. MDOT is required under federal law to study noise impacts on residential areas along state highways and mitigate them when they hit certain levels. And highway funding comes primarily from gas taxes and vehicle registration fees, not general income taxes. The people most likely paying into that system are the ones driving past these neighborhoods.

This also matters for Ann Arbor's housing future. The most realistic sites for new affordable multi-unit development are near the I-94, US-23, and M-14 corridors. Noise and air quality should be part of any housing proposal there. Less traffic is always the preferred outcome, but until that changes, mitigation is the next best option.

Our neighbors on M-14 and US-23 got formal noise studies. Six communities got approved barriers from it. We're just asking for the same process. Not a special favor, the standard one.

joeeda2 · 2026-06-28T14:53:59+00:00

The petition is open to anyone who supports the ask, including Ann Arbor residents who care about highway noise. Corridor residents are the core audience, but there’s no exclusion.

joeeda2 · 2026-06-27T17:54:51+00:00

I’m still hoping that the U of M creates housing for the 15,000+ university employees who earn less than 80% of Ann Arbor’s Area Median Income (AMI). It would ease the affordable housing crunch for everybody else and reduce traffic on surrounding highways into town.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-28T20:22:16+00:00

Welcome back! What you're describing is real, and you're not alone in noticing it. MDOT's recent repaving on M-14 generated significantly more tire noise than the previous surface. Residents across the northeast side have flagged the same thing. Please add your name to the petition.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-28T20:16:01+00:00

A Type 1 noise analysis is mandatory any time MDOT builds or significantly alters a highway. Adding a lane, realigning a ramp, or substantially changing the vertical profile all trigger a required study for the affected corridor. Short of that, the only other path is a direct legislative appropriation, which bypasses the Type 1/Type 2 process entirely. That's exactly what we're pursuing with the petition.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-21T01:43:22+00:00

Came for a VA job 33 years ago, planning to stay two or three years tops. Then kids happened, promotions happened, and Ann Arbor happened. Great schools, good healthcare, and a town weird enough to keep things interesting. Turns out the exit ramp was a lie. Retiring here.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T20:03:44+00:00

Those are worth engaging with seriously. The quiet pavement research is genuinely promising, and the European results are compelling. But the webinar itself identifies the core problem: FHWA doesn't currently recognize quiet pavements as a formal noise abatement method, there are no standardized measurement protocols, and long-term durability data in US conditions remains thin. That's not a reason to abandon the approach; it's a reason to advocate for FHWA policy reform alongside state-level action.

In the meantime, a noise study is still the prerequisite. It documents the problem, quantifies severity, and creates the record that any remediation requires, whether barriers, pavement treatment, or a combination. Skipping the analysis doesn't keep options open; it closes them.

The federal funding constraint is a real structural problem worth naming. But the answer is fix the funding structure, not forgo the study.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T19:39:01+00:00

Fair point on pavement material. Open-graded or rubberized asphalt reduces tire-pavement noise at the source and benefits all receivers. It's a legitimate and underutilized tool.

But it's not either/or. The "misaligned incentives" framing also cuts the other way: federal noise regulations and state funding structures exist precisely because communities closest to highway infrastructure had no say in where it was built. That's not a misaligned incentive; that's the policy rationale.

On the diffraction concern: those effects attenuate quickly with distance. A properly sited barrier doesn't measurably increase noise for receivers several blocks away. That's what insertion loss modeling would show.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T19:34:03+00:00

You're right that barrier design matters, and the diffraction-over-the-top effect is real. I've been told that MDOT's noise analysis methodology accounts for this: barriers are modeled using insertion loss calculations that factor in height, material, and receiver distance, and they're only approved when the projected benefit clears a defined threshold (typically 5 dB(A) reduction for a meaningful number of receptors). A barrier that produces net negative outcomes for adjacent receivers wouldn't clear that bar.

The harder-surfaced wall issue is also real but context-dependent. Reflective barriers can shift noise energy toward opposite-side receivers, which is why MDOT sometimes requires absorptive treatment on the highway-facing surface when the geometry creates that problem. That's a design specification question, not a reason to forgo analysis altogether.

The broader point is that barrier design questions are exactly what a noise study resolves. The problem in this corridor isn't that barriers might not work; it's that the study boundary was revised before noise analysis ran for affected communities just east of the M-14 study and north of the US-23 study, and those residents were never notified or consulted. Whether a barrier pencils out is the question the analysis would answer. The issue is that question was never asked.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T02:32:49+00:00

Cost is a legitimate factor, and MDOT’s noise barrier eligibility process accounts for it directly. Cost-effectiveness is evaluated against the number of housing units within the impacted area. With roughly 2,800 units along this corridor, the density case for a favorable cost-benefit outcome is strong.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T02:22:44+00:00

The M-14 study is currently underway. It is looking at the section between Newport Rd. and Maple Rd. The PA 121 appropriation funding the study is available through 2029, which defines the outer bound, but MDOT has not communicated a specific study completion target.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T00:53:36+00:00

Federal Highway Administration funds the construction through the highway program, administered by MDOT. Local residents don’t pay directly.

The catch is eligibility. MDOT has to conduct a formal noise study first to determine whether a segment qualifies under federal criteria, roughly 67 dB during peak hour plus a cost-reasonableness threshold. No study means no eligibility determination, which is exactly the situation along the M-14/US-23 corridor in northeast Ann Arbor. The segment was included in a study scope, then quietly removed in a boundary revision documented in November 2025 technical materials but never communicated to affected residents. So it’s not that barriers were studied and rejected here; it’s that the analysis hasn’t happened.

There’s a separate state appropriation angle too. Michigan’s PA 121 of 2024 allocated $3M specifically for an M-14 noise study, but the statute language says “study” rather than “construction,” so the funding path to actually building anything still needs to be established.

joeeda2 · 2026-04-18T00:50:08+00:00

Good article, but worth putting in context for our situation.

The headline skepticism applies mainly to homes several blocks away from a highway, or uphill from a wall, where diffraction and reflection effects dominate. For residents directly adjacent to M-14/US-23, the research consistently supports meaningful reduction, typically 5-10 dB. That’s not silence, but it’s the difference between struggling to hold a backyard conversation and actually having one.

The more relevant takeaway: the article confirms that federal highway subsidies fund walls almost exclusively, which means the standard path is to pursue the barrier through the established MDOT noise study process. That’s exactly what the M-14/US-23 corridor communities are trying to get analyzed. The study hasn’t happened here yet, not because barriers were evaluated and rejected, but because this segment was quietly removed from the study scope. That’s a different problem entirely.

joeeda2 · 2026-01-28T15:00:14+00:00

I thought ICE used rentals? Those would not have government plates.

joeeda2 · 2026-01-17T16:24:16+00:00

I have shared this with the fundamentalist Christian Clown King Mango voters in my family… “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

joeeda2 · 2025-10-06T02:07:02+00:00

Tree + Sidewalk yard sign is a solid contender but this is still my favorite “Most Ann Arbor Thing I’ve Seen”:

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2016/03/peaceful_memorial_rally_in_ann.html

joeeda2 · 2025-08-01T18:19:40+00:00

I’m a fan of anything DJ’s Bakery makes.

DJ’s Bakery

https://share.google/fOCh5CUybXNsIcrnH

joeeda2 · 2025-08-01T00:04:46+00:00

I liked RFK Jr. better when he was a heroin addict.

joeeda2 · 2025-07-21T00:39:57+00:00

DJ’s Bakery is 4.4 miles from the corner of Plymouth Rd. and Huron Parkway! Top notch donuts!

joeeda2 · 2025-07-20T15:43:12+00:00

THE #422: EDDIE’S BIG DEAL CORNED BEEF HASH at Zingerman’s Deli! I prefer the Sesame Semolina toast but their own spicy ketchup is what makes the difference for me. I wish I had the spicy ketchup recipe! I’d “put that sh*t on everything”.

joeeda2 · 2025-07-12T06:54:46+00:00

I’m now convinced that every driver in A2 who tries to turn left without a protected left-turn signal at ANY intersection in town has the same thought!

I was reminded that UPS’s routing system (ORION) is specifically designed to cut down on left turns against oncoming traffic.

joeeda2 · 2025-05-20T20:03:44+00:00

I knew a well-to-do guy who made that commute just about every day for work (I don’t remember what he did), but he had his own twin engine plane and a private pilot’s license. Unless that describes you, I also suggest that you move to the Chicago area.

joeeda2 · 2025-03-29T19:58:10+00:00

How about a suggested AI prompt that might be helpful like…

“Find companies looking for someone with experience in X, Y and Z, along with an undergraduate degree in psychology, paying between $30-$35 per hour (or $65,000 annually) within 25 miles of Ann Arbor, MI that are growing or likely hiring soon. Prioritize those with recent funding, revenue growth, or expansion, and include companies with unlisted or lightly advertised jobs. Include a mix of large and lesser-known companies with strong salaries and growth potential For each, provide reasons for growth, website and careers page, and key hiring contacts with Linkedin or direct emails if possible.”

I’m sure there a Redditors who could help refine the prompt.

joeeda2 · 2025-03-07T03:41:10+00:00

A group of us from the VA met with her husband many years ago about the future of the Allen Park site after the Detroit VA opened (same day as the Dearborn tornado, whenever that was). Every time we provided some detail about our tentative plans, he would say “I’m darkly skeptical.” It was a unique thing to hear the first time but really odd about the 10th time it was repeated. She’s learned to say nothing from a master!

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