The Portola Music Festival is back at Pier 80 in San Francisco this weekend. While tens of thousands of festival goers are excited, some residents of Alameda are bracing for a weekend of noise. In 2023 there were more than 200 noise complaint calls.
"I say tone it down," said Dianna Wyman, a real estate agent in Alameda. While she lives in central Alameda and doesn't hear the music, not all her clients are so lucky. "I've heard it's really unbearable," said Wyman.
"It's really noisy because that water conducts the sound." Alameda officials say the powerful bass frequencies travel across the water. The San Francisco Entertainment Commission received reports of windows rattling in Alameda and hundred of noise complaints.
Pat Marshall lives just 4 blocks from the water, and overheard the festival last year. "Oh, I literally thought it was two blocks away," said Marshall, recalling 2023. She didn't realize until the next day that it was actually happening in San Francisco.
"I think it would be one thing if I could be there and enjoy it live but it was disturbing," said Marshall. So distrubing that the City of Alameda posted on their facebook page formally requesting that the event be discountinued or moved to an alternate venue. But neither Marshall or Wyman think it should end.
"I would hate to deprive someone else of their entertainment or enjoyment of something," said Marshall. "I'm not saying cancel," said Wyman. "I like better solutions than that.
Is there a way to tone it d.