Road Traffic Noise and Annoyance: A Quantification of the Effect of Quiet Side Exposure at Dwellings (original) (raw)

Effects of road traffic noise and the benefit of access to quietness

Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2006

Socio–acoustic surveys were carried out as part of the Soundscape Support to Health research programme to assess the health effects of various soundscapes in residential areas. The study was designed to test whether having access to a quiet side of one's dwelling enhances opportunities for relaxation and reduces noise annoyance and other adverse health effects related to noise. The dwellings chosen were exposed to sound levels from road traffic ranging from about LAeq,24h=45–68dB at the most-exposed side. The study involved 956 individuals aged 18–75 years. The results demonstrate that access to quiet indoor and outdoor sections of one's dwelling supports health; it produces a lower degree and extent of annoyance and disturbed daytime relaxation, improves sleep and contributes to physiological and psychological well-being. Having access to a quiet side of one's dwelling reduces disturbances by an average of 30–50% for the various critical effects, and corresponds to a reduction in sound levels of (LAeq,24h) 5 dB at the most-exposed side. To protect most people (80%) from annoyance and other adverse effects, sound levels from road traffic should not exceed (LAeq,24h) 60 dB at the most-exposed side, even if there is access to a quiet side of one's dwelling (LAeq,24h⩽45 dB).

The Impact of an Adverse Neighbourhood Soundscape on Road Traffic Noise Annoyance

Acta Acustica united with Acustica

As a predictor of noise annoyance from road traffic, noise exposure is most often calculated at the most exposed side of the dwelling or apartment. This paper investigates whether an adverse neighbourhood soundscape – noisy areas along roads in the immediate neighbourhood of the dwelling – contributes to residential noise annoyance. The research hypothesis is that people react more strongly to noise when road traffic noise levels in the neighbourhood exceed the noise level at the most exposed façade of the dwelling. Such is the case for people living in apartments facing side streets and backyards or in second row dwellings that are shielded from a main road by intervening building structures. When these residents leave their dwellings to shop, walk, or wait for public transport, they usually encounter the high noise levels along the main street. Five socio-acoustical surveys featuring 3950 respondents were used to test the hypothesis. Results indicate that an adverse neighbourhood ...

Road-traffic noise and factors influencing noise annoyance in an urban population

Environment International, 2009

Noise annoyance is influenced by sound-related factors: type of noise, noise level and frequency, and personrelated factors-physiological, psychological, and social factors. Prior to implementation of the Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council in Serbia, there was a need for the first comprehensive study on noise annoyance in Serbian urban population. The aim of this study was to determine principal factors for high noise annoyance in an adult urban population and to assess their predictive value. A cross-sectional study was performed on 3097 adult residents of a downtown municipality in Belgrade (1217 men and 1880 women), aged 18-96 years. Equivalent noise levels [Leq (dBA)] were measured during day, evening and night in all streets of the municipality. Noise annoyance was estimated using self-reported annoyance scale. Noise annoyance showed strong correlation with noise levels, personal characteristics and some housing conditions. Dose-response relationship was found between the percentage of highly annoyed residents and Lden. Logistic regression model identified increased risk for a high level of noise annoyance with regard to: orientation of living room/bedroom toward the street (Odds Ratio = 2.60; 95% Confidence Interval= 2.04-3.31), duration of stay at apartment during the day [OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 1.02-1.06 (per hour)], noise sensitivity [OR = 1.04, 95%CI = 1.03-1.04 (per scale unit)], and nighttime road-traffic noise level [OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.02-1.04 (per decibel)].

Forty-five years of surveys on annoyance from road traffic noise

Proceedings of the ICA congress, 2019

The Miedema & Vos curve for predicting road traffic noise annoyance was based on 18 different surveys conducted over a period of 9 years. The curve was developed using a statistical regression technique. An extended analysis comprising 46 surveys conducted between 1969 and 2013 yields a very similar dose-response relationship. This analysis was based on the CTL method (Community Tolerance Level). There are no obvious temporal trends, and contrary to claims by other researcher the prevalence of highly annoyed residents exposed to road traffic noise today is the same as 45 years ago.

Predictors of noise annoyance in noisy and quiet urban streets

Science of The Total Environment, 2009

Objectives: Although noise annoyance is a major public health problem in urban areas, there is a lack of published data on predictors for noise annoyance in acoustically different urban environments. The aim of the study was to assess the predictive value of various factors on noise annoyance in noisy and quiet urban streets. Methods: Equivalent noise levels [Leq (dBA)] were measured during day, evening and night times in all of the streets of a central Belgrade municipality. Based on 24-hour noise levels, the streets were denoted as noisy (24-hour Leq over 65 dBA), or quiet (24-hour Leq under 55 dBA). A cross-sectional study was performed on 1954 adult residents (768 men and 1186 women), aged 18-80 years. Noise annoyance was estimated using a self-report five-graded scale. In both areas, two multivariate logistic regression models were fitted: the first one with nighttime noise indicators and the other one with parameters for 24-hour noise exposure. Results: In noisy streets, the relevant predictors of high annoyance were: the orientation of living room/ bedroom toward the street, noise annoyance at workplace, and noise sensitivity. Significant acoustical factors for high noise annoyance were: nighttime noise level [OR = 1.02, 95%CI = 1.00-1.04 (per decibel)], nighttime heavy traffic [OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 1.00-1.02 (per vehicle)]; or day-evening-night noise level (Lden) [OR = 1.03, 95%CI = 1.00-1.07 (per decibel)]. In quiet streets, the significant predictors were: noise sensitivity, the time spent at home daily, light vehicles at nighttime or heavy vehicles at daytime. Conclusions: Our study identified subjective noise sensitivity as a common annoyance predictor, regardless of noise exposure. Noise levels were important indicators of annoyance only in noisy streets, both for nighttime and 24-hour exposure. We propose that noise sensitivity is the most relevant personal trait for future studies and that nighttime noise levels might be as good as Lden in predicting annoyance in noisy urban areas.

Noise annoyance is related to the presence of urban public transport

2014

Background: The association between noise annoyance and public transport as a source of noise has not been studied previously. The aim was to study noise annoyance in an urban population due to the presence, the type and the number of public transport vehicles, in relation to other acoustical and non-acoustical parameters. Method: The study sample comprised 5861 adults residing in 118 streets in the city center of Belgrade. The presence, the type and the number of public transport vehicles were assessed using official transport maps and matched with residential addresses. Noise annoyance was assessed by a questionnaire including a self-report five-graded scale. 'High noise annoyance' was defined by merging 'very' and 'extremely' annoyed answers. Results: Significant predictors of high noise annoyance were the presence of public transport at daytime (yes vs. no) (odds ratio = 1.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.28-1.70), and at night (yes vs. no) (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.20-1.61). Residing in the streets with more than 79 public transport vehicles per hour (3rd tercile vs. 1st tercile) predicted high noise annoyance at daytime (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.18-2.27). Residing in the streets with buses and trams at night ('bus and tram' vs. no public transport) increased the risk of high noise annoyance (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.78-4.09). These associations were independent from noise sensitivity, orientation of bedroom windows, floor level, and equivalent noise levels. Living in the apartment with bedroom windows facing the street was the strongest confounder for the association between noise annoyance, noise levels and public transport. Conclusion: The study has identified the presence of public transport at daytime and at night as a significant and independent predictor of high noise annoyance. Future intervention measures should concern the presence, the type and the number of public transport vehicles in order to reduce noise annoyance reactions in urban areas.

Residents' preferences for noise exposure patterns

In a previous experiment involving subjective listening tests it has been shown that respondents can compare different noise exposure situations. A situation with the same noise level on all sides of the residence can be judged equally annoying as a situation with a high level on the front side, and a corresponding low level on the back side of the house. The results from our first experiment were used to design a new paired comparison test. The test persons were presented with pairs of situations that had previously been judged to be equally annoying. Their new task was to select which one of these situations they would prefer to have around their own home. The results will be used to propose new ways of reducing road traffic noise annoyance in densely populated areas.

Annoyance Caused by Exposure to Road Traffic Noise: An Update

Noise & health, 2002

This paper addresses the negative effects resulting from the exposure to road traffic noise on people's well being with a focus on annoyance. Following the observations that noise exposures engender physiological reactions typical of stress, the non-auditory effects of noise on humans are generally viewed as being stress-related, and annoyance is one of the first and most direct reactions to environmental noise. In general terms, it is found that the continuous exposure of people to road traffic noise leads to suffering from various kinds of discomfort thus reducing appreciably the number of their well being elements. However drawing such a conclusion is hindered by difficulties when non-acoustical factors like sensitivity, socio-economic situation and age are also taken into account along with the usual acoustical factors of road traffic noise. The results of several decades of research on this topic have permitted lately to establish a quantitative relationship between the obj...

An Investigation of Community Response to Urban Traffic Noise

Advanced Concurrent Engineering, 2009

Traffic noise is a major environmental source of pollution in the whole planet, both in developed and in developing nations. The study being reported here has been carried out on one of the most busy and crowded streets in the downtown area of Kerman, located in south east of Iran, which have heavy traffic during the day. Total of 20 measuring points were selected along the main road and its 6 connecting streets. In this study the A-weighted continuous equivalent sound level values and statistical levels were manually measured at each site separately. The noise equivalent level varied between 66 to 79.5 dBA. The results of the study established the fact that noise levels are more than the acceptable limit of 60 dBA, which is the daytime governmentally prescribed noise limit for residential-commercial areas. This paper also describes the reaction of the environmental noise of the city of Kerman. A total of 250 questionnaires were processed. The results of the interview questionnaire revealed the following items; (I) the main isolated noise source was traffic (50%) and street noise (34%); (II) 70% of the people classified the noise in his/her street as "very high"; (III) 52% and 48% of the respondents answered that noise bother them more in morning and evening, respectively; (IV) 86% and 86.8% of the subjects answered that traffic noise produce physicsl and psychological annoyance to them; (V) the main outcomes of exposure to noise were: irritability (40.8%), insomnia (24%), difficulty in concentrating (16%) and conservation disruption (16%).