Traffic management measures to reduce traffic speed and improve road safety are in place on many European roads. The effects of road management measures such as speed limits and traffic calming measures on noise were investigated in the SILVIA project and the possibility of integrating the use of noise reducing pavements and traffic management was evaluated. New emission data for the Nordic Noise Prediction method showed that for urban driving at 30-60 km/h, speed reductions of 10 km/h reduced the noise by 2-4 dB for light vehicles and by 2-3 dB for heavy vehicles. For speed reduction of 10 km/h in the range 110-60 km/h, the noise reduction will be approximately 1-2 dB for roads with 10% heavy vehicles. A 10% reduction of traffic leads to a 0.5 dB noise reduction and a 50% reduction leads to a 3 dB reduction.
Abstract