Traffic is a major source of noise pollution

When we think of pollution in our cities we generally think of smog and dust from traffic. These days we also think about carbon dioxide which could potentially have long term effects on the environment.

However, noise is often forgotten and yet it can have as much impact on on our health and lives as any of the other types of pollution, and its effects are more immediate.

The very word "noise" comes from the Latin word "noxia" which means in injury or hurt. The adverse affect of noise on people is being taken seriously at all levels from international organisations to local government.

The European Commission issued a Green Paper estimating that one in every five people in the European Union are exposed to noise levels that scientists and health experts considered to be unacceptable. And the proportion of people exposed to adverse noise levels in cities will be even higher. Find out more about this on the defra web site .

The World Health Organisation lists the main health risks of noise as:

• pain and hearing fatigue;
• hearing impairment including tinnitus;
• annoyance;
• interferences with social behaviour (aggressiveness, protest and helplessness);
• interference with speech communication;
• sleep disturbance and all its consequences on a long and short term basis;
• cardiovascular effects;
• hormonal responses (stress hormones) and their possible consequences on human metabolism (nutrition) and immune system;
• performance at work and school.

Find out more about health issues on the World Health Organisation web site .

Dealing with the causes

A large proportion of ambient noise pollution comes from road traffic, but rail and air traffic also contribute. Traffic is something that we as a society should be able to act upon to help improve the quality of life for ourselves and our neighbours. Obviously using public transport or walking or cycling for shorter journeys would have a significant impact.

There are also things such as better tyres which produce less road noise will be required under EU legislation for cars and possibly heavy goods vehicles too.

There are different types of road surfacing which can be used to reduce road noise but these are usually more expensive than normal road surfaces and may not perform as well for anti-skidding, so the benefits of these have to be weighed with the other factors in given situations.

Reducing speed both voluntarily or by speed limits is another way to reduce the amount of road noise created. However traffic calming measures such as speed bumps can actually increase noise levels from engines as motorist rev their engines to accelerate away from one bump only to slam on the breaks before the next bump.

Participating in the debate

Bristol City Council is currently trying to get input from people living and working in Bristol about how noise affects them, how they cope with it and what might be done to reduce this noise and thus improve people's quality of life.

Part of this consultation is the "quiet" layer on this site which allows you to indicate areas in Bristol that are quiet and why, or areas that could be quiet and how.

But there are a number of other places where you can join in this consultation or find out more about the issues it raises.

The CitizenScape project (http://www.bristol.citizenscape.net) is a web site which brings together information from a number of sources including the quit layer of this map. The Citizenscape site describes itself as follows:

It’s an idea about how to get Local Authorities and Citizens talking. CitizenScape sites use this new technology to bring together content from both sides of the conversation rather than just the council’s point of view. Each of the widgets is designed to suggest to people ways in which they may want to get more involved and to give feedback on the discussion and the process and part of the project methodology is to work with Citizens and Councils to make sure that we nurture these conversations. Our aim is to create a shared civic space – like an online town hall – where citizens and councils can talk through the important decisions that need to be made.

One of the other sources of information on the CitizenScape site is the Bristol Noise blog which discusses things going on in the area to do with noise pollution and efforts to reduce traffic noise.

There is also the www.AskBristol.com site which provides a starting point for finding consultations being conducted by the council, starting or signing e-petitions, and adding your own thoughts to debates on a range of topics. The discussion about noise is here .

What other people are saying

And in case you are not sure where to start, there are also a number of YouTube videos posted on Bristol City Council's own YouTube channel (which has videos on several topics) and the following direct links to a series of short interviews with people on the streets of Bristol talking about noise.

Vox-pop video 1
Vox-pop video 2
Vox-pop video 3
Vox-pop video 4
Vox-pop video 5
Vox-pop video 6
Vox-pop video 7
Vox-pop video 8
Vox-pop video 9
Vox-pop video 10
Vox-pop video 11

Also if you are experiencing noise problems (such as noisy neighbours, barking dogs, car alarms, etc) and want to get help, the following page on the Bristol City Council web site explains what it can and cannot do and how to contact them for help.