Road Traffic Noise Levels at Different Types of Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang

Abstract

Traffic vehicles on the road networks during their movement create noise that has greater impact on environment. The sources, the receivers and the place of transition, where the sound wave propagates, are the three vital parameters for the field of noise acoustics. For this research, the aim of this study is to assess traffic noise levels between different types of residential areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang. The study is carried out in order to achieve the following three main objectives, which are to assess the level of traffic noise at selected residential areas, to characterize the traffic flow composition nearby study areas, and to compare noise levels between low density and terraced house residential areas. The noise levels measurements were carried out periodically in the morning (from 0700 to 1100), evening (from 1600 to 1900), and at night (from 2200 to 2300) for 15 minutes using a sound level meter. The traffic characteristics were measured simultaneously during noise levels measurements. The highest equivalent continuous noise levels for the low density residential areas was at Kampung Batu 2 in the evening with 65.9 dB(A), while for the medium density residential areas, Taman Sri Acheh contributed 68.60 dB(A) during the morning. The lowest equivalent continuous noise levels were obtained at Kampung Simpang Tiga in the morning that contributed 54.9 dB(A) for low density residential areas. However, the minimum equivalent continuous noise levels obtained for the medium density residential areas was at Taman Ilmu Indah in the morning with 63.10 dB(A). The results obtained, clearly show that the equivalent continuous noise level for all study sites exceeded the maximum permissible sound level for medium density areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm), which is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am) is 45 dB(A), and for low density residential areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm) is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am) is 45 dB(A), respectively. These values are based on the guidelines for environmental noise limits and control by the Department of Environment, Malaysia.

Factors Affecting Traffic Noise and Annoyance from Different Types of Roads: A Case Study in Nakorn Pathom Province, Thailand

“…Although Lden and Lnight in our study were determined from traffic noise levels measured over a typical week, residents along the roads in Nakorn Pathom were exposed to a much higher noise threshold than that recommended by the Guideline Development Group (GDG) used in the European regionwhich accounted for added noises from special events throughout the year (WHO, 2018). When the relationships between traffic noise level and its contributing factors were explored (Table 3), traffic volumes showed a significant correlation in regards to traffic noise, corresponding to several other studies (Halim et al, 2019;Peeters and Blokland, 2007;Miškinytė and Dėdelė, 2014). In contrast to normal circumstances, it was noted that traffic volume on the minor arterial road and vehicle speed on collector roads negatively correlated with noise level (p=0.049 and p=0.002, respectively).…”

“…While information on the former is useful for local authorities to implement appropriate control measures, findings on the latter imply the acceptable safety noise level of each culture which can be used for urban planning without stunting economic growth. As a result, investigations into the speed and volume of vehicles that contribute to road traffic noise have been conducted (Tripura and Sarkar, 2011;Miškinytė and Dėdelė, 2014;Halim et al, 2019), and studies into the annoyance in large and popular tourist cities around the world, including H. Matamoros and Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico, Sfax in Tunisia, Seoul and Ulsan in South Korea, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and other cities in Denmark, and Phuket and Ayutthaya in Thailand, have been reported (Sung et al, 2016;DRD, 2016;Bunnakrid et al, 2017, Thareejit et al, 2020Bouzid et al, 2020;Zamorano-González et al, 2021). No less significant than in these places, people in frontier areas have also complained about traffic noise brought on by town expansion and various types of nearby transit linkages going to large cities.…”

Narrative Review of Soundscape Studies

“…Research on soundscape in living spaces are increasingly available (Lewis, 2019;Meng et al, 2020). In Malaysia, the levels of traffic noise in residential areas were found to be exceeding the permissible limits (Herni et al, 2019). Domestic noise "reduces productivity and impairs cognitive function" (Dean, 2019); creates tension among neighbours (Kerr, Gibson & Klocker, 2018); causes adverse health effects (Maschke & Niemann, 2007;Ottoz, Rizzi & Nastasi, 2018); as well as leads to violence and abuse where "a 1-dB rise in noise levels increases the assault rate by 2.6%" (Heer, 2019).…”

In-situ Noise Measurement and Analysis for the Motorcycle Muffler

“…Noise from the vehicles is one of the major noise pollutions to the environment especially in the urban area [1,2]. Noises emitted by the vehicles have to obey the requirement of regulation of maximum sound pressure level permitted for respective vehicles.…”