MEDICAL DISTRICT — Neighbors on the Near West Side say the noise coming from a new heliport in the Medical District is "unconscionable."
Tri-Taylor and University Village residents met with Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) at Vertiport Chicago earlier this week to voice their concerns. Neighbors living near Vertiport Chicago, on a 10-acre site at Hastings and Wood streets, contend that helicopters traveling to and from the facility are excessively loud.
The private heliport, which opened in April 2015 on land leased from the Illinois Medical District, was purposely developed on a site that was "out of the way," said Michael Cusack, chief operating officer at Vertiport Chicago. The site is near an intermodal freight yard, vacant land and one block from the CTA's ''L'' Pink Line tracks and Costco Wholesale on Ashland.
But the heliport also borders two residential neighborhoods on the Near West Side — Tri-Taylor and University Village. Pilsen residents have also been impacted by the noise, they told Ervin at the meeting Monday night.
Bridget Bolger bought a historic home in Tri-Taylor in 1999 because she was charmed by the "beautiful, quiet" neighborhood. Now, there are helicopters buzzing "on top" of her house, several times each day, she said.
"It sounds like you're in Vietnam. It feels like you're in a war zone," Bolger said.
Nicole Beck, a Tri-Taylor Community Association board member, said Oakley Avenue has become a preferred route into the heliport, with helicopters flying "very close" to the top of buildings. Neighbors have contacted the Federal Aviation Administration, but officials are only concerned about safety, not noise, she said.
"The noise is unconscionable," Beck said.
Tri-Taylor and University Village residents meet with Ald. Jason Ervin at Vertiport Chicago Monday night. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
'Not as loud as Pink Line'
After Mayor Richard Daley demolished Meigs Field in 2003, helicopters no longer had a universal heliport to land near Downtown Chicago. Vertiport Chicago in the Medical District opened last year in response to the need for a transportation link between Chicago airports and Downtown, Cusack said. Chicago Helicopter Experience in Bridgeport, which specializes in tours, also opened last year.
Vertiport Chicago is now used by a variety of clients for a variety of uses — the heliport counts emergency medical helicopters, tour operators, delivery companies, television news crews, the Illinois National Guard, the Illinois Film Commission and wealthy executives among its customers, Cusack said. Currently, there are between 35-50 flights at Vertiport Chicago each week, he said, and about 20 percent of Vertiport Chicago's business comes from two tour operators.
Prior to Vertiport Chicago’s opening, all emergency medical air transportation for the district ran in and out of an existing helipad adjacent to Stroger Hospital.
Cusak said he is trying to be "a good neighbor," but he ultimately doesn't have control over an aircraft once it takes off from the facility. Pilots taking off from or landing at Vertiport Chicago are given written directions on routes that include a voluntary ''no fly'' zone, with the exception of medical evacuation helicopters that are responding to medical emergencies, Cusack said.
"I have said to our tenants, that if they do not follow our recommendations, they will not be allowed to land here," he said.
Cusack also argued that the helicopter noise is not as loud as the CTA's Pink Line located about a block from the site.
"Helicopter traffic can be loud, but it's not as loud as the Pink Line," Cusack said.
It is also difficult to determine whether excessively noisy helicopters are coming from Vertiport Chicago or the Bridgeport helipad, Cusack said. Aldermen have also fielded complaints related to helicopter noise from Chicago Helicopter Experience in Bridgeport.
In response to noise complaints, Cusack committed to sit down with every pilot who used the facility to reinforce the rules.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) meets with neighbors at Vertiport Chicago Monday night. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
Regulation 'quagmire'
Calling the situation a "quagmire," Ervin said he was surprised during his initial investigation to learn that the city's Department of Aviation, the Illinois Department of Transportation's Aeronautics division and the Federal Aviation Administration largely do not regulate helicopter facilities in the city.
The Illinois Medical District, which leases the land to Vertiport Chicago, also does not regulate air traffic coming in or going out of the vertiport, a spokesman said.
"No one in my initial round of calls claimed jurisdiction on the issue," Ervin said. "They all said, 'We don't regulate it.'"
Bolger said neighbors received a similar response from FAA officials.
"We've talked to the FAA, and they said they can recommend [guidelines], but not regulate, Chicago helicopter traffic," Bolger said.
A spokesman for the FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ervin said he is now working with Ald. Patrick D. Thompson (11th) and Ald. Danny Solis (25th) to determine if the city can mandate a flight "ceiling" for helicopters to minimize noise impact on the surrounding neighborhoods near both heliports.
"We need to figure out a way to regulate the traffic, regulate the landing or regulate the facility in some kind of way," Ervin said. "Our goal is to find a solution that everyone can live with."
If the FAA institutes a flight "ceiling," Cusack said he will work to make sure pilots comply.
"If the FAA says [pilots] have to fly at 2,500 feet or 3,000 feet, I'm happy to do that," Cusack said.
Peter Pero, who lives in Little Italy, said the noisy helicopters have become a regional problem "of pilots going where they damn well please" in absence of regulations that applied at city-owned Meigs Field.
"You've got a deregulated situation this summer," Pero said. "But If you keep buzzing [above] our homes, we're going to make sure there's a hell of a lot more oversight here."
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