TRAFFIC NOISE IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY SERIOUS URBAN PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. NUMEROUS CRITERIA, BASED FOR EXAMPLE ON MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SPEECH INTERFERENCE LEVELS, ARE SUITABLE FOR ASSESSING THIS NOISE. NOW, THERE IS ALSO AN AUSTRALIAN STANDARD PROCEDURE (AS 1055-1973) FOR NOISE ASSESSMENT IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. THESE VARIOUS CRITERIA ARE GOOD BECAUSE THEY CAN BE USED TO ASSESS BOTH BACKGROUND AND FOREGROUND NOISE. IN MANY AREAS, TRAFFIC FLOWS HAVE INCREASED TO THE POINT WHERE THE NOISE HAS CHANGED FROM BEING OCCASIONAL FOREGROUND TO INTRUSIVE BACKGROUND NOISE. ASSESSMENTS AND SIMULATIONS INDICATE THAT THIS CHANGE OCCURS AT FLOWS AROUND 500 VEH/H. SOME LEGISLATIVE LIMITS EXIST FOR THE RESTRICTION OF TRAFFIC NOISE. BECAUSE THEY ARE BASED ON MAXIMUM LEVELS, THEY CAN APPLY ONLY TO INTENSE NOISE, AND ARE UNSATISFACTORY FOR LIMITING INTRUSIVE BACKGROUND NOISE. (A). FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS SEE IRRD ABSTRACT NO. 226354.
Samenvatting