This summer it was announced that the VA Hospital was building a helipad. This raised concerns that there would be increased helicopter traffic, with the associated noise, over Barron Park. On September 24, members of the BPA Board met with officials of the VA, and the following is what they told us. Based on this, worries about this change seem unwarranted.

The helipad is being built to more efficiently handle current traffic; no increase in traffic is expected. The Palo Alto VA Hospital is a regional center and receives patients from other VA Hospitals in northern California. Most of these transfers can be done by ground transportation, but occasionally a patient's condition requires that he be transferred by helicopter. Currently, the VA is averaging one such transfer per month. Most of these transfers are performed on weekdays during normal business hours. The pilots are instructed to fly over commercial corridors (eg, Page Mill Road) and to avoid cutting over residential areas (to the extent reasonable).

There will be no helicopter based at the VA, and since the trips are to drop off patients (as opposed to picking them up), the helicopters will be on the ground at the VA for a minimal amount of time.

The helipad will be about 10 feet high, and the VA plans to have landscaping to reduce its impact (visual and noise) on the neighborhood.