Abstract
As the traffic and other environmental noise generating activities are growing in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), adverse health and other impacts are expected to develop. The management of such problem involves many actions, of which noise mapping has been proven to be a helpful approach. The objective of the current study was to test the adequacy of the available data in KSA municipalities for generating urban noise maps and to verify the applicability of available environmental noise mapping and noise annoyance models for KSA. Therefore, noise maps were produced for Al-Fayha District in Jeddah City, KSA using commercially available noise mapping software and applying the French national computation method “NMPB” for traffic noise. Most of the data required for traffic noise prediction and annoyance analysis were available, either in the Municipality GIS department or in other governmental authorities. The predicted noise levels during the three time periods, i.e., daytime, evening, and nighttime, were found higher than the maximum recommended levels established in KSA environmental noise standards. Annoyance analysis revealed that high percentages of the District inhabitants were highly annoyed, depending on the type of planning zone and period of interest. These results reflect the urgent need to consider environmental noise reduction in KSA national plans. The accuracy of the predicted noise levels and the availability of most of the necessary data should encourage further studies on the use of noise mapping as part of noise reduction plans.
Highlights
The adverse health effects of environmental noise have been extensively studied during the last two decades and evidence of these health effects has accumulated
The objective of the current study is to test the adequacy of the available data in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) municipalities municipalities for generating urban noise maps and using them for public annoyance analysis, and for generating urban noise maps and using them for public annoyance analysis, and to verify the to verify the applicability of available environmental noise mapping models for KSA
Traffic noise levels were predicted and public annoyance analysis was performed in Al-Fayha District, Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia using noise mapping approach
Summary
The adverse health effects of environmental noise have been extensively studied during the last two decades and evidence of these health effects has accumulated. Sufficient epidemiological studies have found relationships of environmental noise to cardiovascular diseases, annoyance, sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment, and tinnitus [1]. In the EU, the Environmental Noise Directive (END) 2002/49/EC [3] has been established for management of the environmental noise problem, and noise maps have been mandatory for all large agglomerations, major airports, roads, and railways. Noise mapping is a means of presenting calculated and/or measured noise levels in a representative manner over a particular geographic area [4]. Since the establishment of the END in 2002, there has been a significant improvement
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