Prolonged exposure to environmental noise, especially generated by industrial equipment and traffic, is dangerous to the health of our communities, with the power to slowly but steadily impact our hearing, sleep patterns, blood pressure, mental concentration, stress levels, and more.
Traditional solutions to reduce disruptive noise have ranged from installing big concrete barriers and acoustic enclosures to noise-sensitive land use planning, traffic management, and designing landscapes to enhance natural sounds. As new development continues across the United States, noise levels have increased.
Creative Ways to Turn Down the Volume
Recently introduced innovative noise abatement solutions have shown major potential to address excessive noise. Here are a few examples:
- Inspired by nature, researchers have developed new soundproofing materials based on the low-frequency flight of owls to dampen the sound of squealing car brakes and car engine rumblings. Owls are well-known to be nearly inaudible when flying; with the newly developed two-layer aerogel that mimics the structures of owl skin and features, 87.5 decibels of engine noise were reduced to a safe level of 78.6 decibels, significantly improving on the performance of existing high-end traditional materials.
- Noise cameras are being piloted in various cities around the world as a new way to address excessive noise. For example, a pilot program in Maryland uses cameras to detect noisy cars with muffler modifications, which triggers the issuing of fines for offenders. With these results, cities can map out noise hotspots, moving from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention of noise pollution.
- Congestion pricing, a New York City policy that took effect in Manhattan this year, has reduced honking noise and associated complaints by establishing a toll on vehicles commuting through the central business district during peak hours. In addition to funding MTA capital improvements, this initiative has improved air quality, traffic flow, and bicycle/pedestrian safety.
How BRYX Can Help With Traffic Noise
Transportation engineers and urban planners can expedite their traffic noise impact evaluations with SoundScanNX, a BRYX machine learning model that automatically distinguishes and classifies traffic sounds from audio recordings. Designed specifically to help municipalities address noise complaints, this model adds time-saving intelligence to traffic noise impact studies. Get started on a free trial of SoundScanNX here.