LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sheri Ferguson moved into the tiny city of Parkway Village, near the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Preston Highway, in 2010. Around that time, friends just six or seven houses west of her started getting new, double-paned windows and doors to protect their homes from airport noise; some even got new air conditioners and insulation in their walls.
"I knew I would hear from them at some point. And I put off writing a letter myself to see what was going on," Ferguson said.
Between 2010 and 2015, the Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) did Phase 1 of its QuieterHome Program, and gave noise insulation to 542 homes. The cutoff in Parkway Village was Alexander Avenue, about 30 yards away from Ferguson's house.
For roughly 10 years, she's been waiting her turn.
"I've kind of actually let it go, more or less, and I'll just go with the flow and not fret over any of it," she said.
While she may be a good sport about it, Ferguson said planes flying over her house is quite an inconvenience.
"It was just one after another from 2 to 4-5 in the morning," she said, recalling a recent Friday or Saturday night. "My dog -- as usual -- was upset."
Back in December of 2022, the FOCUS team explained how the QuieterHome Program's phase 2 had been slowly progressing since 2016. At that time, 105 homes had been done in the second phase; totaling 647 homes overall.
The LRAA said an additional 53 homes have been completed as of Sept. 30, bringing the total number since 2010 to an even 700. The homes currently being worked on are somewhere between groups 4 and 5.
And on Sept. 6, Ferguson got the first sign that her wait might be coming to an end.
"Boom, I got a letter," she said.
Ferguson got a letter inviting her to a homeowner workshop on Oct. 16. The letter didn't say anything about when she might get her insulation, just that her home had been identified, and she should attend this meeting to get more info.
FOCUS went with her to the meeting. Ferguson signed up to get her home tested for interior noise levels in November. During the noise testing, the LRAA blasts simulated airport noise at your house and then measures with a microphone in every livable room. If the interior noise level is 45 decibels or higher, you are approved for sound insulation.
"I'll have cookies and coffee for them," Ferguson said about whoever comes to do her noise testing.
For people like Joe Spencer, who moved into a home in Phase 2, Group 6 just a few months ago, he feels like he won the lottery.
"It will be nice, especially for next Christmas. It won't be in time for this Christmas because UPS...they land planes every 10 minutes," Spencer said. "I'm expecting the middle of next year."
While Ferguson still doesn't know when she will be sleeping more soundly, she is relieved the process is starting.
"I signed up, and testing will be done in November," she said. "So, it's a big plus, and I feel better about the program."
The LRAA declined our request for an interview, but spokesperson Natalie Chaudoin answered questions over email:
It's near impossible to say when work for Groups 4 and 5 will be complete as it depends on when – and if – those remaining homeowners decided they wish to participate in the QuieterHome Program. Work on Group 6 began on August 28, 2023 when notification letters were mailed to the first group of homeowners who are currently working through the multi-step process at this time...We are on-pace for the QuieterHome Program with construction completed on 53 homes to date and the processing beginning for an additional 34 likely in December. This is on par with our goal of 90 homes per year.
The LRAA cannot start a phase 3 of the program until a new noise exposure map is created for the airport. The noise exposure map is supposed to predict five years into the future of how loud the airport will be.
The LRAA should have done a new noise exposure map in 2021, however, because air travel had not yet picked up after the pandemic, it was delayed. That map still has not been made, and the plan is to submit it to the FAA for approval by summer 2024.
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