NOISE LEVELS IN the country’s capital city are falling, according to a new study showing the number of people exposed to night-time noise over 55 decibels has dropped over the past number of years.
In 2008, the majority of city-dwellers (96 per cent) were exposed to night-time noise of 55 decibels or more; that number had fallen dramatically, with just 22 per cent still experiencing such levels. Meanwhile, less than 1 per cent of the city’s population is exposed to to problematic levels of night-time noise (70 decibels or more), according to the latest research based on ‘noise mapping’ carried out as part of the Dublin Agglomeration Environmental Noise Action Plan.
The report also found that noise exposure from railways and airports are ”considerably lower” than that from roads. Fingal County Council said it would “continue to promote appropriate land use patterns in the vicinity of the flight paths and will strive to restrict housing development in order to minimise the exposure of residents of such developments to undesirable noise levels.”
A number of factors have been cited as contributing to the reduction in noise pollution in the city, including a decrease in traffic volumes, housing development occurring in quieter areas, movement of population to these areas, and the use of amended calculation methods in the noise model.
The entire stretch of the M50 motorway was found to the noisiest area of the capital.
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