It has been the policy to reduce noise nuisance along the main roads for some time, but not everybody is equally enthusiastic about the erected noise screens. It appears that in a number of cases the erection of a screen simply replaces noise nuisance by visual nuisance. Research has been done in five areas to find out the residents opinion of the screens and the underlying reasons for this opinion. The outcome of this research showed that even with high noise levels residents will not accept screens that block their range of view. In some specific cases there may be reasonable doubts whether the erection of a noise screen is the most suitable solution. In such cases sound insulation measures combined with a higher than usual legal outdoor noise level limit provide a better solution. The Noise Abatement Act allows for this solution in Article 90. In this article a number of arguments are listed that are in principle sufficient to allow such an approach. A higher noise level than the maximum permissible limit is only possible in a situation in which objections to aspects such as physical planning, scenery, traffic engineering or finances prevail. The opinion of residents and objections of a social nature, could be added to the above mentioned aspects.
Abstract