Jenny, You are probably not wealthy enough to buy in Ruby Hills or the Preserves, and this on account of the miserable Obama administration, its unwillingness to give people better jobs, and its shameful attacks upon by record. But given all these unfortunate considerations, I'd buy the Canyon Creek house and regard the car and truck noises outside as the Sounds of Freedom.

Unfortunately, there are those who want public transportation projects to take precedence over privately owned autos and corporate owned trucks. But when you hear those cars and trucks humming along behind your new home at 3 AM, and you open your bedroom window for you and the kids to suck that great American exhaust into your lungs, just give thanks we don't live in a socialist society with its leveling public works projects.

Ruby Hill was built before Obama was in office. Good luck, Jenny, people can be rude sometimes. You might want to reconsider and buy a house in Livermore.

Yes, a house that close to the freeway will be more difficult to sell when you move someday in the future, so the current listing price of the house should reflect that. Also, in addition to the noise you should consider air pollution issues associated with houses that close to the freeway. The neighborhood is a small, rather isolated group of about 30 houses on the western edge of Pleasanton, so I think you really need to knock on the doors of some of the houses there and talk to your prospective neighbors to get a better idea of what life in that neighborhood is like.

I see listings for that area periodically...and the price is usually attractive but not worth it! You will be contending with the noise as you try and relax and BBQ in your yard, when it is a beautiful day out and you rather have the windows open vs. air conditioning, etc. Not only the noise, but I commute past there on the canyon road and it looks challenging trying to exit out of that complex - I see cars waiting trying to take a left which is where you will be wanting to go the majority of the time. Somewhat of a blind curve there. Don't do it!

What is the deal with the PW selecint postings for the main page from people wanting to know if the noise or smell is excessive in a neighborhood? Has this site degraded to the point that they have to select this stuff for the main page?

Maggie, now after you have wrecked one small community by giving your primitive opinion. Check out your own community. And don't forget the Freeway #580. You may not hear it due to the wind generated noise by the Dublin wind corridor.

Do posters who complain about pollution from the freeways not own a car/vehicle - you get pollution from the car sitting in your garage/driveway - cars are everywhere - so it doesn't necessarily have to be any different whether you live near a freeway or not - your neighbour might have a gas guzzler/turbo charged/suped up car etc and then you complain about freeway pollution - get over it! But I suppose your responses are that you ride a bicycle everywhere so you don't add to the pollution but somehow I doubt it.

If you have traffic noise a great way to disguise it is to purchase a water fountain - we back onto the 680 and prior to owning the water fountain you could hear the traffic clearly but the noise of the water deafens the traffic sounds - just a thought! If this is the house you can see becoming your home I say go for it, Pleasanton is a lovely place to live.

Jenny, Don't listen to most of these people. None of them live there and have only their own fears to offer. And pay not attention to the mentally disturbed 'Mittens'. If it rains its Obama's fault. If it doesn't rain its Obama's fault. It's pretty much a one trick pony with that one.

Here is some information that may be more helpful. I live on the other side of the freeway from where you are looking. I'm five houses from the freeway. Before making our decision we did talk with the people at the freeway side. They have a two-story home. They told us that the sound wall blocks out most of the noise and they hardly hear it. And as we stood outside talking, it was indeed less noisy than standing in my new front yard. We moved into the house in the early 90's. As the high-tech boom moved forward there was more traffic on the road which created more noise. But as the commute hours ended, the noise level dropped correspondingly.

Since these houses were built post freeway construction, the houses sit adjacent to the freeway with a wide open space separating the road from the sound wall. This is better that the other way around where existing homes were 'cleared' in order to make way for the road, with the remaining houses sitting 5 feet off the freeway edge.

After a while we actually stopped hearing the roadway. This doesn't mean that it went away. It just means that after a time it pretty much disappeared from our personal perspective. We have enjoyed living where we do and have no regrets. I don't hear many 'big trucks' late at night. Maybe a few. I guess we haven't noticed.

Also, where the houses are further away from the actual roadway (as in your case and ours), the concern over road pollution turns out to be not much of one. Be prepared for people to start screaming that I said it's not a concern. They're right and wrong at the same time. However, I'll say once again that they do not live here and speak from fear (or sometimes made up statistics). They don't want this in their Back Yard. They don't want anything in their Back Yard. They are afraid and therefore give you their fears as 'Good' advice, without considering all the points.

I think I'm a little more pragmatic. And pragmatically speaking, this is the Bay Area. We have Spare The Air Days all the time. There is no place you can live in the Bay Area where you will not be exposed to air pollution. The concern here is not that you may be exposed. You will be exposed. The point is how much exposure. In your case, the freeway is not right next to you, as with older construction. The predominate winds blow from the West. You are upwind from the roadway. And on a personal basis, according to our doctor, we have never experienced and medical problem related to the freeway. We moved from the LA area. Talk about daily exposure to pollution. Next to a freeway or no, that was bad. Pragmatically speaking, things are pretty good here in Pleasanton and we've had a good life.

Houses near a freeway generally are lower priced, but not greatly 'discounted'. Many people enjoy the easy freeway access (it beats driving across town to go and return from work, as I have had to do in the past). That could be a benefit for you at the moment. As business continues to improve I think the house will increase in value, just like all of the other houses in the area. The only houses that are not increasing at the moment are in the hills and priced over $1M. They seem to remain in a slump. The neighborhood that your looking at was middle management income level family neighborhood that last I saw. It may have changed. Drive by after work and take a look.

Jenny, I think that's all I can offer. I wouldn't be afraid to buy the house. If it's in your budget, and you like it, it could become a great home for you. But don't take my word for it. I'm sure there will be plenty of people willing to chime in with their advice.


Weight the pros and cons for yourself. Good Luck.

Jenny: You obviously need professional help -- i.e., a good Realtor! You also need to take a good look at a map; if freeway noice is a problem for you and your family, then you can easily see the neighborhoods that you might wish to overlook. We have NO "bad" neighborhoods in Pleasanton -- just different prices, ages, amenities. Good luck in your home search.
A retired Realtor.

I think Bob has a well written post.

I do suggest that if you are concerned about noise, you visit the house as many times as you reasonably can (Not sure if it is occupied) at different times of the day, but that still doesn't always tell you everything. We moved near downtown a few months ago and I never would have guessed that I would be roused from my sleep by a train at 530 am every weekday. But you get used to it, I guess. I have also noticed that for us (near Bernal) road noise can vary greatly from front to back of the house, depending on which side faces the freeway.

Having moved a few times, I agree that one of my concerns would be that the house you are interested in is sitting while other have multiple offers. My agent/friend told me that most things that are sitting, are doing so for a reason. I guess it depends on how long you plan to stay and if you are able to make changes (for example, if a house is sitting because it is outdated... you can change that. But you can't change a location). If you plan to stay a long time or if the market turns around, you will probably realize some gains anyways or will be able to sell for less than others around you.

If you are going to be here a shorter time, I would consider resale value more seriously, as you will want to be able to sell quickly at a good price. Commuting and proximity to freeway is good too. I would also consider the age of your children, if you have them. If your neighborhood is more remote, you will be driving further to friend's houses/activities/school, etc. That doesn't bother some people. Some people it does.
That's my two cents.
Good luck!

Jenny,

Pleasanton offers more than what you are reading in this blog. Please ignore those who have nothing but negative information to share.

We have lived in several neighborhoods in Pleasanton since moving here about 12 years ago. I would say they all had pros and cons and no matter where you decide to settle down here in Pleasanton you will never be 100% satisfied, even my friends who live in the high end neighborhoods like Ruby etc. aren't happy with one thing or another its just what are your willing to live with and live without.

I'm sure once you find the home for you and you're family you will make it work. I currently live next to the sound wall whre 680 runs and when we first moved in I could hear it, now its just part of my daily living, turn up the music in the backyard plus screams and happy sounds from your kids will help all that fade away.

Good Luck.

Being Nice

The actual term in Ca. and most states is "Real Estate Agent".

"Realtors" are just members of a private association.

Sounds like "Doctor", doesn't it?
(but not the kind that's good for anyone? :-)

The term was in general use to describe salespeople, brokers, etc, when it was "trademarked" in the '50's by an Ass'n, called the NAR- who now set the terms for most Multiple Listings, controls the data, and issues the title to people who apply and pay them.

Their control of the listings is one reason they have been so effective at keeping their commissions so high. Now that the Internet can provide the same information to anyone, this should change.

I've bought several houses without a Real Estate professional, for less and without hassle. You don't need to know that much to point and say: "And this is the kitchen"-while pointing to the den!

Mostly Realtors try to keep their members from selling services at a reasonable price, or charging by the hour for work that is actually done.

In California, the state licenses brokers, agents, salespeople. Make sure your professional is state licensed - and you can check their status on-line.

"Realtors" have no more standing than any others.

Also see:
Web Link

resident said: "Do posters who complain about pollution from the freeways not own a car/vehicle - you get pollution from the car sitting in your garage/driveway - cars are everywhere - so it doesn't necessarily have to be any different whether you live near a freeway or not - your neighbour might have a gas guzzler/turbo charged/suped up car etc and then you complain about freeway pollution - get over it! "

It's been well documented that pollution levels near a freeway can be relatively high due to the high volume of high speed traffic with car and truck engines operating at high rpm. Your "cars are everywhere" argument is a bit simplistic.

@Sam - I wasn't trying to suggest living near a freeway is just as healthy as living in a field in the country - just stating it's hard to get away from traffic pollution in Pleasanton period no matter where you live. There's simply not many neighborhoods in Pleasanton that you can live where there aren't many cars driving on the roads nearby - whether it's Hopyard, Santa Rita, Valley, Foothill, Stanley, etc - all these roads lead to the sub-division housing developments - there's no getting away from it - cars are everywhere - yes I agree more are on the freeway but to the posters who constantly complain about freeway pollution, you're likely to still get high levels on the other main roads where there are thousands of cars everyday.

resident said: "yes I agree more are on the freeway but to the posters who constantly complain about freeway pollution, you're likely to still get high levels on the other main roads where there are thousands of cars everyday."

I understand your point. There's no escaping some degree of air and noise pollution living in this area. I never understood why pollution from a freeway was any worse than that from a heavily traveled city street (e.g., Hopyard) but, on reflection, I think that I do see one big problem with freeways over heavily traveled city streets from an air pollution standpoint: The cars are traveling much faster on freeways. Why is this significant? Because the force required for a car to overcome air drag increases greatly with increasing speed. If the speed of a car doubles from, say, 30 mph to 60 mph, then the amount of air drag on the car approximately quadruples. That means that the engines in all those cars you see whizzing by on I-580 or I-680 are working much, much harder than cars rolling down Hopyard and, consequently, each of those cars on the freeway are putting out a lot more air pollution per mile than the typical car on a Pleasanton street.

In addition to that, there's the traffic makeup: Heavy trucks tend to be much more common on I-580 than on the typical Pleasanton city street.

With all due respect, Sam, aren't you being a bit dramatic? I realize you may have some limited knowledge on this matter, but you must realize there are other perspectives. I mean, for gosh sakes, isn't it a bit elitist to use your knowledge to spoil American's God-given right to inhale petroleum fumes that are at the basis of our modern economy? Next you'll likely be preaching at us about the horrors of global warming, something that scientists and corporate spokespeople have had many good conversations about. But as far as petroleum fumes, purchased fairly on an open capitalist market, I've never worried about them myself because my magic happy underpants has always afforded me much protection.

Let me also add, retroactively, that my party does not dote on little people with their little afflictions like cancer and black lung. Why only today my party is sending a message that profits for our wealthy campaign contributors are far more important than the lungs and lives of America’s coal miners. The recent investigative reports by several biased left-wing news organizations on the devastating impact of black lung and the lengths that some mine operations go to circumvent their responsibility to protect miners has been meant as "a wakeup call." But, as only fitting, voices wealthier than coal miner families have successfully drowned out that message. [...] Blocking efforts by the Mine Safety and Health Administration to modernize miner protections may cost a few lives, careers, and family income for those who go underground every day, but that is piddling compared to the profits our job creating heroes in the mining industry stand to lose if further state mandated regulations go into effect.

Mitt -- I'm for freedom. Freedom to make a profit. Freedom to drown out voices of the little people.

I live downtown and have no problem with the road noise, the trains or the concerts in the park. My previous home, in another town, had none of those things. What it had was a neighbor with two pre-teen girls and a swimming pool. Absolute hell on earth. Little girls scream, their friends scream and they never stop. There were sleepovers with 20 kids nearly every weekend. Then the other neighbor would turn up his backyard stereo speakers.
Yup, I'll take freeways, trains and live bands any day to a couple of screaming brats.

Thank you for the input. Interestly since the first poster mention ruby hill , we actually live in Ruby Hill currently. It's a nice neighborhood but it is far from everything. We looked at many houses, from east Dublin to San Ramon, and finally back to Pleasanton. This is only the second time we are looking for a house, but we learned that no matter where you choose, there are alway some compromises, be it small lot, floor plan, age of the house, commute, neighborhood, hight tax and hoa etc. We decided out of everything, noise is the easier to take. At least the house itself is very nice and it is easier to commute to work. And the noise inside the house is very minimal. Except the noise from the freeway, the whole neighborhood itself is pretty quiet, not a lot of traffic and people.

People live in places like New York, LA , Tokyo, Hong Kong etc deal with noises everyday and houses next to a busy street or highway don't sell less... Sometime even more. So after all people's tolerant of noise is more than most people think.

AS you can see from these posts this is not the nicest city to live in. I moved here 2 years ago and regret my decision every day. Hopefully, I can escape this hellhole and move to San Jose where people are nicer, more tolerant and there are people who don't blame everything on the democrats or obama. Good luck with your search!

I'm with you Chris.... I've moved here recently and I hate it here everyday. People are miserable and snobby. I WISH I could leave... can't afford to sell my house and hubby won't go. Do I stay and be miserable or do I leave divorced.... it's a hard decision.

Used to live a street up from 680. If you like noise and dust then go for it. It was a long and difficult house to sell. Buyers were turned off by constant noise. Good luck with your decision.

About a year ago, and after seven years of living in a very large beautiful custom home in Ruby Hill - in south east Pleasanton, to this three times smaller home on Canyon Creek Circle - in north west Pleasanton. But to say the least we are far more happier here despite the freeway noise and a non-gated community. All amenities are within a five minutes drive and the culturally diverse community here is wonderful with kids of all ages. Traffic, pollution, noise, etc. are a given and pretty much anywhere in our bay-area, but Pleasanton has a lot of better schools and living to offer than most other cities. You have to weigh the pros and cons. Good luck on your search, Jenny!

SO I guess this topic has been dead for the better part of many months. But if some one else lands up here you should know the facts.

1. There is some amount of noise through the day.
2. Through the night, there isnt as much noise but you will hear the occasional 18 wheeler trying to slow down on the slope- it doesnt really bother us and we sleep with the windows open.
3. Canyon Creek is surrounded by greenery and hills on all sides- the additional Oxygen from the trees should count to offset some part of the added pollution.
4. Inside the house, there is almost zero noise.
5. The community is wonderful and the houses are premium quality.
6. Getting in an out of this community has never been a problem. Id like to call Maggie's bluff here. The only way she would ever know if there was a problem getting out is if she lived here. Driving past the community on Dublin Canyon Road typically will take her 3 seconds to pass the waiting cars. She has no idea how long they wait or if they wait even.
7. Every house has a price- the freeway noise will account for it when you buy it and it will be accounted for when you sell it. The house you mentioned sold for 70k above asking inspite of a small size layout and the concerns you mentioned.

Overall, great community with the minor distraction that is the Freeway noise and it sounds more like a beach with constant waves :P

Every house in Pleasanton has its plusses and minuses. I'll freely admit and tally some of the ones my west Pleasanton (Oak Hill) neighborhood has:

Plusses:
- Nice view of the hills on the west side of Pleasanton.
- Easy access to both 580 and 680.
- Fairly convenient access to both the Mall and to Main Street by means of Foothill and Bernal roads.
- Far from the train tracks and midnight train whistles (can hear them sometimes at night, though - how do people who live downtown deal with that? :-) ).
- Being partially on a hillside at higher elevation, will probably be one of the last locations in Pleasanton that will be underwater in the event of a 500-year flood.


Negatives:
- Some freeway noise from I-680.
- Close to the Calavaras fault running up Foothill Road.
- Close to Foothill High School's football field with their Tuesday afternoon marching band practices.
- Close to a high school which holds an annual "Battle of the Marching Bands" event lasting until about 10pm. (move this item and the previous item to the 'plusses' category if you love marching bands).
- Next to Cody Hall's favorite drag-racing strip (Foothill Road).

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