The site of a championship course has been announced but it has yet to be started. It's not a hardship to drive to one of the courses north of 44.

I was curious also about the effectiveness also so I took a sound pressure meter with me when I visited Linden that Sunday and noted between 6 and 10 db lower sound level difference at the bottom (house level) as compared to the top of the berm. There are also a large number of trees and bushes on the top of the berm that will further attenuate the sound as they mature over the next year or so. The Turnpike itself is significantly lower (20-25 ft.) than the top of the berm and the homes so much of the sound is deflected upwards.

Subjectively, there was a considerable difference from the top of the hill to the bottom and as I moved closer to the homes and farther from the berm it seemed even less. When I walked to the actual street between the houses, about 75 ft from the bottom of the berm, I could not distinguish any Turnpike noise from the other background noise.

Very well done Don- thank you for all of your hard work! I can't believe how fast TV is growing! We look forward to coming down in November and becoming full time Villagers in 5 years!

GWN took a scientific approach but I would use your own ears before making a purchase decision. You can now ride/walk to that area where the burm is and isn't. There is certainly a difference with the burm, but for me, not enough difference that I would trade where I am to relocate there. However, I have no doubt that it won't bother enough people that those homes will sell like all of the others do.

Agree, this will be a very subjective issue for most and will either be a go or no go for someone considering buying in this area. As a reason to relocate I doubt any will make this a consideration. For me, I'm happy were I am at but can appreciate what is being done and the engineering that is going into mitigation of uncontrollable factors of the new locations.

Yes, I used a basic sound pressure meter to get empirical data, but I also put it away after getting the data and just used my ears and walked around the area. There are some shortcomings in my observations, they were done on a Sunday morning when traffic was light, higher traffic levels and night time conditions could easily change the perception to something unacceptable to some. These things will be better known after the homes in this area become occupied. If there is a negative impact, I am confident that the next time this situation exists the developer will take additional actions to further mitigate the issue, they don't make many mistakes and even more rarely repeat a mistake.

A year or two from now it's doubtful that anyone will even be discussing the issue.

Yes, it all comes down to what's important to the individual. There are the ones in this thread that couldn't dream of why anyone would want to be down here with no championship courses - as if every villager's life revolves around golf. Then there are those that don't want to be in the vicinity of a prison or quarry, but the population growth in the area proves that there are plenty of us that those things aren't a factor for.

I like to get out and look around at the changes daily, or close to it. But, just as you don't do flyovers except on Sundays, I try to give the construction workers their space when they are at work. So, I also listened to the noise by the burm on a Sunday. It actually wasn't all that bad where there is no burm and significantly better with the burm.

When I first moved here almost exactly 1 year ago, I could ride my cart no further than Tupelo Villas in DeSoto. Then it was opened up to get to parts of McClure, then the GC path was opened alongside 501 to 468, then the tunnels to go across to Linden or Marsh Bend. Then the GC path alongside the turnpike was opened up to the Hogeye Sink bridge and later down Marsh Bend Trail all the way to the Pitch and Putt. Now, the turnpike path goes beyond the bridge to within site of the power lines which is approximately where the turnpike bridge will go in. Looking forward to being able to cross that bridge and on to the rest of TV - a matter of months away.

If you want to see a really beautiful area, get out of your golf cart and walk the 2.8 mile trail around Hogeye Sink. It is open to walkers and bikers, but not golf carts.

Just as a reminder to anyone reading this - Decibels are on a Logrithmic scale - so 10 decibels less means TEN TIMES LESS. An order of magnitude decrease is huge. In other words, the Berms work.

I know and agree, the berms do seem to work very well. Sometimes the numbers and the science don't always filter through the brain with the clarity of reality. The human ear is both sensitive and with the help of the brain selective to what it hears. If you're sitting on the lanai with a glass of wine and quietly enjoying the moon and the stars you'll likely hear the Turnpike traffic if you're one of the nearer homes. Take the same scenario with a few friends over for a quite conversation and you'll never hear a thing from the Turnpike as you tune it out.