Shake, Rattle and Learn?

There is too much noise outside Soto Street Elementary School in Boyle Heights, and Caltrans ought to help do something about it. It’s a simple problem with a simple answer.

Trucks rumble along the Pomona Freeway just yards away from bungalow classrooms. The window-rattling roar, described in a story by Times staff writer Antonio Olivo, exceeds federal standards for noise pollution, according to tests performed for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Caltrans disputes that finding, but no one can deny that the noise is penetrating.

A sound wall several hundred feet long between a freeway onramp and the school would solve much of the problem. However, the school does not qualify for the Caltrans sound wall program, a spokesman said, because the state Department of Transportation mitigated excessive noise, at a cost of $750,000, two decades ago when the freeway ramp was built. That was before portable classrooms were necessarily brought onto the campus to make room for more students. The changed circumstances should prompt a new response.

A wall may not be in the Caltrans budget, but that should not be the end of the story. If the school district used local school bond funds to build the wall, Caltrans should be willing to reimburse the district over time. Caltrans officials and the LAUSD environmental team need to meet and work out a solution.

Any teacher will tell you that excessive noise distracts children who need to focus, especially when they are learning to read or mastering a new language. Noise, however, isn’t the only problem at Soto Street Elementary. Trucks also kick up dust and pebbles as they pass the grounds, fouling the air and ruining lunches as children eat under a shelter. Parents want a cafeteria. Perhaps the bungalows could be replaced with a two-story soundproofed building that would include classrooms and a lunchroom, says Victoria Castro, the school board member who represents the area. However, given the LAUSD’s track record, a sound wall could come much sooner and would also protect children playing outdoors.

Caltrans shouldn’t be on the hook for excessive noise every time circumstances change--but in the case of the racket at Soto Street, it should certainly try harder.