Overview
- Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian’s office announced Tuesday that Universal Studios Hollywood will install two additional sound barriers around the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster to address complaints from nearby Toluca Lake residents.
- Neighbors say rider screams during recent testing were loud and disturbing, with several describing the sound as alarming and intrusive even inside homes.
- Universal says testing to date meets applicable sound-ordinance requirements but that it will implement the extra barriers, expand monitoring, and hold community meetings and a hotline for residents.
- The added construction is expected to be finished by early September, the council office said, but Universal has not tied completion to an official grand‑opening and the ride remains in technical rehearsals.
- The project highlights the limits of preconstruction acoustic modeling because loaded trains produce human voices that travel differently than empty-test runs, and it underlines the challenge of operating a high-speed outdoor coaster next to a working studio and established neighborhood.