Evaluation of exposure to traffic noise in an urban recreational area

Abstract

Environmental noise annoyance due to transportation noise in the home environment has been widely studied, and exposure-response relationships have been established previously for the expected percentage of annoyed residents with the most exposed façade exposure level as a determinant. However, relatively little is known about the evaluation of transportation noise when residents are residing outdoors, for instance when seeking relaxation or restoration in urban recreational areas. In an urban park in the Netherlands, 52 participants walked either in an area with a high level of road trafftc noise due to a nearby highway, or in a more quiet area further away from the highway. Noise exposure was individually monitored during the walk, and the evaluation of the acoustic environment was assessed immediately after the walk. The individual variance in exposure (L,q",r, Lto and Ls5) was high enough to derive exposure-response relationships for annoyance by road traffic noise, interference with experience of natural quiet, perceived quietness and perceived soundscape quality. The results may have implications for urban planning concerning levels of transportation noise in outdoor urban recreational areas