Toluca Lake Residents Screaming Over Roller Coaster
Residents of Toluca Lake are complaining about noise from Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster, saying the repeated screams from riders are unbearable.
The comments section accompanying the video reveals a derisive attitude toward people who complain about noise.
Some characterize the issue as a matter of class, arguing that anyone who can afford to live in Toluca Lake can simply afford to move. Others say the “Karens” knew they were living near an amusement park, should soundproof their homes, have unusually sensitive hearing, or are simply imagining the problem.
But these arguments miss an important point.
Universal Studios began as a film production studio where visitors could take a tour. Over the years, it expanded into a major theme park with increasingly elaborate attractions. The fact that someone lives near Universal does not necessarily mean they agreed to every future noise-producing attraction the company might build.
Universal has stated that the ride complies with applicable noise standards. But legal compliance does not necessarily mean that residents are adequately protected from noise pollution. A noise ordinance establishes a regulatory threshold; it does not guarantee that noise below that threshold will be unobtrusive or harmless to the surrounding community.
The question should not simply be why residents don’t move or soundproof their homes. The real question should be what Universal is doing to reduce the noise at its source—or whether the roller coaster should have been built in the first place—knowing that it would adversely affect nearby residents.
People riding a roller coaster choose to experience the screams and excitement. The people living nearby don’t get to make that choice. They are forced to hear it whenever the ride operates.
That’s the fundamental problem with treating noise as merely an inconvenience to the person complaining about it.
If a new attraction has substantially changed the noise environment for an established neighborhood, residents have every right to demand that something be done about it.