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Traffic noise pollution
Discussion started: 01/01/09
Discussion ended: 03/03/10
Photo by POLIS
"Environmental" or "ambient" noise is unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including road, rail, aircraft and industrial noise.
The council has mapped environmental noise in Bristol www.bristol.gov.uk/noisemap
We would like your views on how environmental noise affects you so you can influence how the noise action plan is implemented in Bristol.
- Are you annoyed by traffic noise where you live? (please say where in the city you live)
- What do you think could be done about excessive levels of traffic noise?
Why not also visit bristolstreets.co.uk to add your favourite quiet place to an interactive map?
We will be giving you more opportunities to influence the implementation of the noise action plan during 2009 as part of an EU funded project called Citizenscape.
Cllr Jon Rogers the Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability and Ward councillor for Ashley has read the comments here and is interested in the outcome of the discussion. See him comment on the issue of noise pollution here:
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comments & responses
emergency vehicles
From: Lockwood
Posted 05/01/10
Some of the most intrusive noise pollution is by the ambulance, police and fire service emergency vehicles. Would it be possible for the noise level (often deafeningly painful) to be reduced and for the sirens to be used when only absolutely necessary?...
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Submitted by email
From: Consultation Team
Posted 24/12/09
I live in King Georges Road which is at the moment quite a peaceful road with some through traffic. On the whole it is a quiet peaceful area to live, especially at night and this includes Highridge , Withywood and Highridge Common. There is no audible ...
Tags: Green belt, Coppenhagen
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Re: Submitted by email
From: Islandgirl
Posted 29/12/09
Living in Horfield my area was farmland until 1950’s. It’s verdant suburban character reminds me of living in a semi rural village, yet it’s close to the benefits of the main A38 but out of earshot buffered by a large building. Council consultat...
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car pollution
From: peasant
Posted 28/11/09
NOISE POLLUTION
The car is responsible for 80% of noise pollution; in central urban areas it is pretty much responsible for all of it.
Every year in Europe alone, automobile noise will kill about two hundred thousand people
“...the WHO's findi...
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Late night traffic noise
From: E Wolfe
Posted 30/11/09
We are most bothered by traffic noise late at night, leaving pubs and clubs on Whiteladies Rd. I never thought, as a `pub person', that I'd hear myself say this, but I'd welcome a return to more restricted opening hours. In particular, Platform 1's 4am...
Tags: Noise from traffic after closing time.
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Re: Late night traffic noise
From: jm
Posted 07/12/09
i live in a side street off Fishponds Road. When I first moved in, over 18 years ago, the main road was busy at peak hours, but otherwise fairly quiet. nowadays, it's unsafe to cross at the designated crossings because so many drivers ignore these, m...
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Re: Late night traffic noise
From: maurice
Posted 07/12/09
Car/people noise is also a problem in rural areas
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Ambulance Noise
From: citydweller
Posted 26/11/09
There seems to have been a massive increase in ambulance noise in recent years. I do not mean police or fire engines. The amount of noise from ambulances far outways them.
It is now impossible to enjoy even a short peaceful period of time without it...
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Re: Ambulance Noise
From: peasant
Posted 28/11/09
I find police and ambulance alarms
actually painful on the ear when they drive past,
and I suppose will have to put up with it until the noise eventually makes me partially deaf.
They were never as loud when I was younger, is it because motorists ca...
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Broadway New York
From: peasant
Posted 22/11/09
New Pedestrian Zones opened this summer in the heart of New York.
if New York can do it !!!!!
http://www.streetfilms.org/on-herald-squares-transformation-and-disappearing-traffic/
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Noise-reducing asphalt
From: woodsy
Posted 22/11/09
I noticed recently that the slip road coming off the M32* to Parkway roundabout has been resurfaced with a noise-reducing asphalt. Why is this not used more widely where heavily-trafficked roads pass through residential areas?
*The main carriageway ...
Tags: M32, Noise, asphalt
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Suburban noise pollution
From: Pete+
Posted 22/11/09
Those of us lucky enough to live in the leafy suburbs also suffer noise pollution - from garden machinery! While nobody has time to go back to cutting lawns and hedges by hand do private, council, and commercial garden workers really need to use leaf b...
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pollution
From: peasant
Posted 21/11/09
It is not only noise!! Noise is the least of our concerns.
Cars are noisy, and the most polluting act an average person commit.
Across the globe the personal car is the single greatest polluter on the planet.
It destroys plants and replaces healt...
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Bus Rapid Transit must not be diesel
From: onestop
Posted 21/11/09
Obviously traffic is the biggest source of noise in the city. Large diesel engines are particularly noisy. Within the city, many of these are in buses. Replacing existing buses is expensive, but if the council is serious about reducing noise pollution ...
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Car Alarms, Helicopter and Sirens
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
These noises are painful. Were police and ambulance sirens always so loud and shrill? Is it possible to put a restriction on their noiselevels!? Are they being used purely for emergency?
The car alarms and the helicopter are really irritating and they...
Tags: cars, sirens, alarms
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Re: Car Alarms, Helicopter and Sirens
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
Found an interesting link on the issue of car alarms
http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_1_lets_ban.html
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City Living
From: 106000363
Posted 20/11/09
Noise is part and parcel of living in a city, but the most irritating part of city noise is a sudden change from the ambient levels. In my experience the worst contributor is the police helicopter which, when it does appear, spends long periods of time...
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Re: City Living
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
Noise needn't be part of city life. As evidenced by the two comments from the people living next to the portway, regarding the noticable difference when there are traffic free events.
If you cut down traffic and congestion you cut the noise. Who needs...
Tags: carfree, city live
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City Living
From: 106000363
Posted 20/11/09
Noise is part and parcel of living in a city, but the most irritating part of city noise is a sudden change from the ambient levels. In my experience the worst contributor is the police helicopter which, when it does appear, spends long periods of time...
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Comment from Friends of Greville Smyth Park
From: Consultation Team
Posted 11/11/09
The noise level in the park (mainly traffic from the flyover) has been a topic of concern for a number of years. We have raised the idea of sound-screening a number of times but understand this would be very costly. Clearly if a new superstore is buil...
Tags: Greville Smyth Park, Superstore
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Re: Comment from Friends of Greville Smyth Park
From: riastara
Posted 26/11/09
Would it really be so costly to provide sound-screening for Greville Smyth Park? It would improve the quality of the park for so many people, surely it would be worth it.
Would it still be "too expensive" for the council if we were talking about a p...
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Re: Comment from Friends of Greville Smyth Park
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
Wouldn't it be nice to extend the park instead of moving the supermarket down the road!!!?
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Electric cars will help
From: Grommit
Posted 24/09/09
Yes traffic noise is a real nuisance, but this should hopefully improve a lot in the next few years with the introduction of more hybrid and electric cars. If you've stood next to a Prius, they're almost silent. Electric cars are coming soon whether an...
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Re: Electric cars will help
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
Unfortunatelly there is soundengineers working on making electric cars noisy. Apparently the quiet models aren't selling very well. Maybe it's time to integrate noise levels into MOT and emission requirements for cars.
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Re: Re: Electric cars will help
From: peasant
Posted 21/11/09
However generating electricity continues to be a major source of air pollution.
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From: CFC
Posted 23/09/09
Get real. If you dont like noise, don't live in a city. If you want to get something decent done, cut down the drunkeness in Bristol on a Friday and Sat nights. No decent person can go downtown at the weekend. It's disgusting. Cut the number of pubs an...
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Re:
From: queenofthewombles
Posted 21/11/09
Get real! If you don't like drunks don't live in a city.
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Submitted by email
From: Consultation Team
Posted 23/09/09
I also think we should ban this loud 'thump thump' music in cars. When they go past my house (which is on an estate so these roads are not main roads), I can hear and feel the vibrations inside my house even with all windows shut! I don't see how dr...
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Re: Submitted by email
From: Grommit
Posted 24/09/09
I so agree with this. Anything that loud is not only a pain but a public hazard. Anyone with music that loud in a car cannot possibly hear what's going on outside the car and should get prosecuted for dangerous driving. Driving while on the phone has b...
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A4 Portway
From: basil63
Posted 23/09/09
I live near a 50mph speed limit part of the A4 Portway and there is a constant 24 x 7 background noise. It makes a real difference when there are events that require the Portway to be closed such as Big Bike Ride, Half Marathon etc. Other parts of the...
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Re: A4 Portway
From: Mark Evans
Posted 05/10/09
I wish to add that I also live near the Portway and having relatively recently moved here, am regretting my decision. The noise just never appears to cease. The days when for some reason it's closed down are so much more enjoyable. Is there any chance ...
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Hypertension
From: mattchwv
Posted 15/09/09
Hi,
the evidence is mounting that traffic noise is a serious problem. I hope the council will do something about it.
http://www.healthnews.com/medical-updates/road-noise-can-raise-your-risk-hypertension-3676.html
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Air polution is more important
From: Gavin
Posted 31/08/09
I live close to the A38 Gloucester Road (Bishopston).
There's significant noise polution, but the levels of air polution are far more important to me - I'd prefer the coucil to put more effort into monitoring and addressing that rather than focus on...
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Re: Air polution is more important
From: steve crawshaw
Posted 01/09/09
Hi Gavin
I'm the air quality officer for the council. We actually have pretty good monitoring information for the A38 corridor with a number of low cost diffusion tubes placed on Gloucester Road and a new continuous monitoring site at the Arches on Ch...
Tags: Transport, Noise, air quality
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Re: Re: Air polution is more important
From: CFC
Posted 23/09/09
Cut pollution from businesses, the haze you see over the city in the summer goes back 20 yrs, it'ss not about the cars.
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 05/08/09
I live on Malago Road which is also the A38 - we have constant traffic night
and day so the noise never stops and the pollution doesn't bear thinking about.
I also live opposite the railway line that leads to and from Bedminster Station
and Temple M...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
Coronation Road has variable noise levels during the 24 hour cycle and can
be so quiet at night you can hear a "pin-drop" or an argument the far side
of the New Cut! (Church bells in Hotwells even!)
One thing which used to change this like a dawn ch...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
TRAFFIC SURVEYS
Just for the record BCC appear to have conducted quite a serious vehicle
observation of the Coronation Road, Greenway Bush Lane intersection
yesterday afternoon [Wed 5th August] , supposedly including Vauxhall Bridge
cycle use. A 4-...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
Hi,
I also noticed two groups of 3-4 people in yellow jackets around the
junction of North Street and Luckwell Road this morning. Is this connected
with Stephen's sightings on Coronation Road?
Personally, I think it's part of a BCC, Tesco, No...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
You neglect the Ashton-Park-burst-the-greenbelt crew or the forces of Gondor
in your analysis Ben, (or even Bendy-Rapid-Transit) :)
But on the face of it someone is collecting a through-Bedminster traffic
data set, all be it in the Silly-season-lu...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
I'd add the section of Luckwell Road that links Duckmoor Rd & Winterstoke Road
as an area of excessive traffic noise pollution, mostly caused by large
vehicles travelling much too fast. It's exacerbated for residents on my stretch
by the fact that t...
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Comment from Greater Bedminster Neighbourhood Forum
From: Consultation Team
Posted 12/10/09
My hasn't it gone quiet here all of a sudden!
For the record there was another traffic survey on Coronation Road at
Vauxhall Bridge yesterday morning from about 7 am onwards. No idea who for,
or why.
So long as it is properly attributed to a Summ...
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Comment from the greater Bedminster Forum.
From: Consultation Team
Posted 05/08/09
Traffic noise is a constant problem in parts of Southville and I'm sure
elsewhere. Examples include:
1. Coronation Road. I live on a turning just off Coronation Road and
heavy lorry noise wakes me sometimes. When the road is relatively emp...
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Re: Comment from the greater Bedminster Forum.
From: active travel workshop1
Posted 25/08/09
I live in easton and it sometimes seems that traffic rules dont always apply. Outside my house is a blind corner and people whiz around it at high speeds reeving at the same time. Not only is it really dangerous but the noise is day and night.
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Re: Re: Comment from the greater Bedminster Forum.
From: mattchwv
Posted 26/08/09
I also live in Easton and find the traffic noise quite disturbing. Though we are quite lucky to have some nice quiet spaces as well like Eastville park or Greenbank cemetery
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Comment submitted by postcard
From: Consultation Team
Posted 05/08/09
The 30mph new speed limit in Newfoundland Road is STUPID. But a 50mph (enforced) limit with explanatory signs for the WHOLE of the M32 would make a big difference to noise especially for Ashley Down etc. Also increase fuel efficiency and improve air qu...
Tags: M32, lower speed
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Re: Comment submitted by postcard
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 05/08/09
Yes, this should at least be graduated, rather than dropping straight from 60 to 30, which could cause accidents!(...And what has happened on the outward-bound stretch which has had a 60 mile an hour limit for nearly 40 years?...Has this also been redu...
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Comment submitted by postcard
From: Consultation Team
Posted 05/08/09
Air traffic noise pollution. aircraft from Bristol airport wake me every night in the early hours e.g. 3, 4, 5 am and I live near Southmead!
Tags: Air traffic noise
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car noise on M32
From: caro303
Posted 28/07/09
I've always wondered why the M32 and other major roads don't have any noise reduction methods in place along them - as I've seen along other motorway. There is surely a good weatherproof noise reduction screen (like those you get in soundproof boothes ...
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Re: car noise on M32
From: hugogaggiotti@hotmail.com
Posted 12/08/09
You are absolutely right! and the city Council is doing nothing at all!!
The M32 is a monster expelling 24 hours of noise and smoke.
I live in Frenchay. I can't imagine how is a possible to have a hospital and a university, places for what silence is...
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Broadquay area
From: Lisa B
Posted 17/07/09
As a pedestrian regularly walking through the Broadquay area of the centre I find the noise from being completely surrounded by traffic is constant and can be very loud. Although there are benches around the fountains it's not possible to sit and comfo...
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Mitigating projects (submitted by postcard)
From: Consultation Team
Posted 23/06/09
Schools/Hospitals should have mitigating projects. e.g. Fairfield School children will be living, walking and being schooled in a 55-65 DB area. Would trees on streets help? What else can be done?
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noise
From: pkms
Posted 22/05/09
i didn't really realise how lucky i am until i read all the other coments. i live in montpelier, but in a cul de sac, with 5 houses. we have no through traffice, i don't hear the traffic on Ahsley hill as that is just a bit too far away and the only ...
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Bath Road below Totterdown
From: lubaloo
Posted 19/05/09
This is a really noisy strip, particularly the section between Totterdown Bridge and the traffic lights at 3 lamps. It's treated as a bit of a race track, because there are no houses directly beside the road and it's dual carriageway. But the noise com...
Tags: Totterdown, bath road
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Road Noise
From: Siobhan
Posted 14/05/09
It is silly for us not to be investing in quiet tarmac and listenting to our residents when they highlight problems in their local areas such as the pot holes and sunken areas on the Portway (A4)
Not only do we have road and tyre noise, but also we ...
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Some ideas
From: Loz
Posted 14/05/09
I live in St Werburghs, a bit further from the M32 but I have constant noise pollution and air pollution from James Street. Except, of course when its is gridlocked when it's just air pollution and the occasional thoughtless car horn. I can think of ...
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Bob Bull
From: BobBull
Posted 14/05/09
Noise is often generated by tyres - Improve road surface there is such a thing as quite tarmac.
Also stopped traffic causes unnecessary noise - Improve traffic flow.
Speed is not really relevant in fact slower means longer lasting noise.
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Re: Bob Bull
From: makala
Posted 25/08/09
I agree that the road surface can make a big difference. Fir example lots of roads in KNowle West have lots of poorly designed bumps that create extra noise as cars slow and try and get over the humps, and also the surfaces are not smooth at all, where...
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Re: Re: Bob Bull
From: admin_katie
Posted 01/09/09
Hi Makala
Road surfacing certainly makes a difference, I also live in KW and experience alot of passing noise pollution.
Luckily there are some great quiet places in KW, that have been pointed out on the map, that people can escape to!
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Vegan Chap
From: Paradoxia
Posted 01/05/09
We need to reduce the speed of traffic (twenty is plenty in the city boundary), increase trees and shrubs to cushion noise and provide more incentives for people to use public transport (kick First into touch) and cycle.
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Reduce volume and speed
From: shaunstone
Posted 28/04/09
We need to reduce volume and speed. Refering Volume; It has long been an opinion of mine that Bristol is split into two levels centrally. Upper Bristol Clifton and Whiteladies and Lower Bristol Broadmead. The hill in between puts off many a cyclist and...
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Gloucester Road .... noisy as
From: Golden Bolt
Posted 27/04/09
I used to live in a flat on Gloucester Road, I was aware that it would be noisy before I moved in but wasn't prepared for quite how loud it actually was! After a while I think I just filtered the noise out and became unaware of it. I have since moved t...
Tags: Gloucester Road
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Fishponds Road Traffic Noise
From: Peter4
Posted 07/04/09
Traffic noise has greatly increased since I moved here 30 years ago. The increase in traffic volume using this route is probably the main factor. Public transport and HGV's are by far the worst culprits especially on the inclined sections. The speeding...
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Noise pollution
From: freeman
Posted 02/04/09
I live next to the M32 which is very noisy most of the time. Some time ago in the Bristol area there was a trial conducted of road materials which could reduce traffic noise. I have heard nothing about the outcome of this trial, if a material did reduc...
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Noise Vox Pop
From: Consultation Team
Posted 09/03/09
We went out on the streets of Bristol to ask residents what they thought about current levels of traffic noise.
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It
From: ben71
Posted 03/03/09
Where I live in Redcliffe it's the seagulls that are the biggest noise problem. There are a lot of empty buildings for them to nest on the roofs, and they make a real racket when the sunrises - which means 6 months of waking up at 5am, or wearing earpl...
Tags: Noise, Seagulls, Redcliffe
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noise barriers for the cumberland basin
From: rachelinbristol
Posted 28/02/09
I live in Clifton Wood and am very much affected by the noise of the Cumberland Basin and Hotwells Road. Due to the hills surrounding these roads, there are a huge number of houses which must be similarly affected.
There is a steady roar of traffic ...
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slow down
From: ingham67
Posted 30/01/09
20 mph on residential roads would make life safer, quieter and more relaxed but it must be enforced. Also all arterial roads including the M32 should have 30mph limits within the city.Drivers have the perception of getting there faster by speeding up b...
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Re: slow down
From: fightingjudo
Posted 27/08/09
quiet car try the electric car great car. no noise what so ever we call it the kiddy killer you don,t know it is thre until it's too late so silence may not be golden
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Re: slow down
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 04/02/09
20 Miles per hour? -Why not go all the way and have someone with a red flag walk along in front of every vehicle?
More space for buses?...Completely separate roads maybe, to avoid the massive tailbacks they create with their constant stopping and driv...
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Re: slow down
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 04/02/09
20 Miles per hour? -Why not go all the way and have someone with a red flag walk along in front of every vehicle?
More space for buses?...Completely separate roads maybe, to avoid the massive tailbacks they create with their constant stopping and driv...
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Re: Re: slow down
From: ychael
Posted 15/07/09
Red Flag? And I suppose you think the Earth is flat and Climate Change a conspiracy theory?
Everywhere the 20mph has been done, there's been fewer accidents, fewer children hurt or killed, better health - not to mention a better quality of life for ...
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Re: slow down
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 17/07/09
Climate change may not be a "Conspiracy Theory", but it has certainly been used as a marketing ploy to turn the clock backwards while avoiding taking any real action...(promotion of cycling, walking, and "Carbon Trading" cop outs...)
There are well d...
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Re: Re: slow down
From: ychael
Posted 13/10/09
Oh dear oh dear. You believe in the Alternative Fuel Fairy. Actually, alternatives do exist, but they are my worst fear out of all this. Nuclear? Hydrogen? Anything to keep the wheels turning while we all get fatter and lazier and unhealthier and ...
Tags: cars, climate change, Common Sense, walking and cycling, Alternatives to Oil, Public Health
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Re: Re: Re: slow down
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 14/10/09
No one is suggesting we drive around the streets of Bristol at 45 mph, merely that driving at 20 mph is less "green" than at 30 mph...
And surely when it comes to accidents, it shows a lack of parental responsibility that children are being allowed to...
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Re: Re: Re: Re: slow down
From: ychael
Posted 14/10/09
Just to clarify, driving at 30 mph uses less fuel / produces less CO2 than driving at 20 mph (though as you know even this depends on how you drive and the way cars are manufactured - it isn't an unchangeable given). However, educed carbon is not the w...
Tags: cars, Common Sense, walking and cycling, Public Health
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Speed up!
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 28/10/09
If we are talking safety, then there definitely needs to be some form of separation between different forms of traffic, and pedestrians, all of which have differing levels of speed, and vulnerability...
It's true Bristol is a densely packed old City...
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Re: Speed up!
From: fightingjudo
Posted 20/11/09
lets have the monorail i have just come back from nottingham and i think the tram with its overhead wires look a mess plus being at road level this increases the chances of a accident
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traffic noise and solutions
From: Carrie
Posted 23/01/09
I live in St Werburghs and am bothered by the constant noise from the M32.
I think that a ventilated polly tunnel should be built over the M32 whenever it nears a residential area.
Nearby green areas are also blighted by this noisy road. Try taking ...
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Re: traffic noise and solutions
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 26/01/09
Driving has been made un-pleasant enough already and walking from Kingswood to Avonmouth, or from Hartcliffe to Aztec West, as seems to be suggested by the aptly labelled "Green" Council, just isn't viable -Where's our "tube" system?
As for the "Inner...
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Traffic noise
From: woodsy
Posted 22/01/09
I live approx 300-400 m from the M32 and Outer Circuit Road in Easton and notice that these days there is a constant background murmur of noise, even in the early hours of the morning: this did not happen a couple of decades ago, part of the reason for...
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Noise
From: timwaite
Posted 21/01/09
The nosiest urban vehicles are buses, HGV and speeding cars/motorbikes. Is our noise legislation so bad that we allow such noisy vehicles on the road or is is it just poorly enforced? Why is our public transport so noisy?
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Re: Noise
From: ychael
Posted 15/07/09
We do need to sort out the car noise though. At least with buses once they've gone they've gone. With major roads like the Wells Road, Bath Road, M32, A3029, A4 Portway etc etc it's just a never ending roar all day every day - except, mercifully, sti...
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Re: Noise
From: sharon
Posted 15/07/09
Totally agree with this. There is a big difference between the constant low sound of cars and the incredibly annoying sound of mopeds and motorbikes. Cars revving their engines before speeding up the Gloucester Road and the irritating whine of mopeds s...
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Suggestions for action on noise
From: Glenn Vowles
Posted 19/01/09
Suggestions for action on noise:
*Reduce noise through better planning and design, ackowledging that growth in Bristol’s population, housing, air travel and traffic presents great challenges
*Seek to make the most of redevelopment and refurbish...
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Enforce the existing speed limits
From: normasp
Posted 17/01/09
I live at Crews Hole. Generally it is quite a quiet place to live, but the peace is likely to be shattered at any time of day or night by vehicles using Crews Hole Road which ignore the 30mph speedd limit. Motor bikes are particularly noticeable, for r...
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Need to adopt a noise strategy and action plan
From: Glenn Vowles
Posted 15/01/09
Bristolians are increasingly living with unacceptable and unhealthy levels of noise (city council website acknowledges this). The noise levels from traffic, which the council acknowledge as the main noise source in the city, often peak at what can only...
Tags: Pollution, Health, traffic, stress, London, industrial, strategy, action plan, quality of life, conversation, speeding.
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Re: Need to adopt a noise strategy and action plan
From: Nathan
Posted 26/02/09
I live on the dual carriage way part of the Wells Road. The noise from heavy goods vehicles, speeding cars/motorbikes, loud car stereo systems/exhausts are now beyond acceptable levels.
During the day you can just about put up with it as you go about ...
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Re: Need to adopt a noise strategy and action plan
From: ChasS
Posted 21/01/09
I don't know the noise levels along Wells Rd in Knowle, but my area near the BRI gets tagged as noise polluted but subjectively I would rate it as "not bad" for a central city area. The occasional, OK sometimes more than occasional, siren is noisy as ...
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20!
From: steward
Posted 13/01/09
Noise is yet another reason for a 20mph limit to be applied more widely in Bristol. By reducing harsh braking and acceleration, a 20mph limit would soften many of the negative effects of traffic.
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Re: 20!
From: Sean Thomas
Posted 14/01/09
Your lucky if you can get up to 20 with all the restrictions to traffic flow...
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Quieter traffic
From: Graham Balfry
Posted 13/01/09
Slower traffic means quiter traffic (it also means less fuel, less expense, less carbon dioxide,less pollution, less brake-wear, less tyre-wear, less engine-wear, less engine-oil, less stress, fewer deaths.) Do it.
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Re: Quieter traffic
From: ChasS
Posted 21/01/09
Not having start stop traffic but movement at a steady speed gives both the best fuel efficiency and reduces noise. With better control of lights and fewer road calming measures we would have more even flow.
The use of flashing yellow lights on sm...
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Quieter traffic
From: GavinSpittlehouse
Posted 13/01/09
The loudest traffic (from my garden, 50m from Gloucester Road) is a speeding minority - cars and bikers. Enforce the existing properly and the traffic noise in urban areas like this will be vastly reduced.
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Re: Quieter traffic
From: ychael
Posted 15/07/09
Actually, it's the endless drone of traffic that's more of a threat to health. While I share your anger when an anti-social vehicle user e.g. rides by on an overly loud scooter or whatever, the noise from the Wells Road, Bath Road, M32, A3029, A4 Por...
Tags: cars, vehicle noise, lower speeds
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Road noise
From: mycroft42
Posted 13/01/09
It seems fairly obvious how to reduce traffic noise, reduce the number of cars. It can also help to use the quiet or 'whisper' tarmac (I think it's called), this reduces the noise between road and wheel. Also reducing the speed of cars reduces the aero...
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Sirens
From: jean
Posted 24/02/09
Can the Council do anything about the volume of sirens on ambulances, fire trucks and police cars? Surely the decibel level is double what it needs to be.
Please help. Don't let our comments get tossed in the bin. DO SOMETHING. Thanks.
p.s. Please...
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Re: Sirens
From: steve crawshaw
Posted 27/02/09
Hi Jean
The council doesn't have any powers to control the use of sirens on emergency vehicles and the emergency services only use these sirens in cases where life and limb are under threat.
Various pressure groups are campaigning on this issue so ...
Tags: Noise, sirens, emergency services, bristol noise
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Re: Re: Sirens
From: Tim0
Posted 13/03/09
"...emergency services only use these sirens in cases where life and limb are under threat."
That's not true. I've seen ambulances pull out
of the BRI -- and put the sirens on as they do -- after waiting for the light to change. ALL other vehicles...
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Re: Road noise
From: sue
Posted 18/01/09
I live some distance from the M32 but can hear it constantly in the background. the surface is implicated in noise levels but i don't think the whisper concrete in use in some places is all that great. I've heard of a surface made from rubber (like k...
Tags: surfaces, speed
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Re: Re: Road noise
From: Shakey
Posted 21/01/09
Hotwells gyratory is shown as a hot spot for noise (its imposssible to cross to the Pump Hse too) so whats the plan BCC? There is too much road space - 4 lanes?! Come on redesign it so its not a race track but instead a 'street', a pt of the city! its ...
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Re: Road noise
From: steve crawshaw
Posted 15/01/09
reducing traffic volume is not as effective as lowering speed for noise reduction, although it has other benefits e.g. on air quality and accidents. For example, generally, halving traffic flow results in a 3dB decrease (just noticeable) whereas a redu...
Tags: Roads, Noise, noise map, noise video, CADNA-A, Bristol traffic
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Re: Re: Road noise
From: E Wolfe
Posted 03/05/09
Our problem is chiefly deliberate noise from cars: honking horns, and pumping out bass. This is often very late at night/early hours; cars park outside the old people's home just off the Whiteladies Rd when arriving at/leaving Platform 1 nightclub at W...
Tags: Late night noise.
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Re: Re: Re: Road noise
From: jm
Posted 23/09/09
20mph sounds good, but who's going to enforce it? don't pass any more traffic laws until existing ones are properly enforced.
by the way i live in Fishponds - for the information of the police that's the bit you speed through between Staple Hill and ...
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