Traffic management and noise - Inter-noise 2006

Traffic management measures such as 30 km/h zones, road humps, roundabouts, restrictions on traffic in special time periods, speed control etc are used on many urban roads in Europe.These measures are usually applied to improve traffic safety, typically by reducing the speed, and to "calm" residential areas from the impact of traffic in order to make the areas more pleasant to live in.Besides reducing speed and often also traffic volumes, traffic management measures also affect the noise emitted by the traffic.This has been the subject of a comprehensive European literature study conducted as a part of the EU research and development project SILVIA, and further studies will be done in the ongoing EU research project SILENCE.The aim is to provide decision-makers with tools allowing them to rationally plan traffic noise control measures.The effect on noise of the various traffic management measures depends very much on the design and implementation of the measures, as well as on how they are accepted by the drivers.Generally, it can be concluded from the SILVIA literature study that reductions in average noise levels (LAeq) of up to 4 dB can be achieved.