The day will come when man has to fight noise pollution just as he once fought cholera and plague.
- Robert Koch, German physician, Nobel laureate,
Living in an industrialized world, surrounded by omnipresent sounds of varying intensity, such as buzzing fans, passing cars, roadwork, or barking dogs, we become less sensitive to the sonic world. Our hearing is the sense that we cannot turn off, so we often do not pay attention to the acoustics of the world around us on a daily basis. Yet, noise pollution is the continuous and persistent increase in noise level in a given area, altering the natural sound landscape of the ecosystem.
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out noise as a significant environmental pollution almost on par with air pollutants. According to WHO, long-term exposure to noise can lead to serious health disorders, such as:
- cardiovascular diseases or nervous system disorders,
- decreased cognitive performance,
- severe irritation,
- stress,
- irritability,
- chronic fatigue,
- or sleep disorders.
The effects of exposure to noise also become costly for the economy, as we have fewer productive days at work and a more burdened healthcare system. In areas exposed to noise, such as near highways, the market value of real estate also decreases.
In cities, traffic noise is very bothersome. During the day, the noise level from various road transport means averages 80dB. The permissible noise levels in Poland are highest for urban downtown areas in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, such as Lodz, currently at: LDWN=70dB (24-hour); and separately for night LN=65dB. WHO guidelines,
however, speak of levels LDWN=53dB and LN=45dB for noise from cars, which are significantly lower than the permissible Polish regulations.
Lodz, like any large city, struggles with excessive traffic noise, which is related to the immense traffic intensity in the city, ubiquitous renovations, road quality, and road management. The city's location in the very center of Poland makes it a critical point in north-south and east-west transit traffic. The construction of bypasses has partially relieved the city. However, new bypasses around Lodz have become a bothersome source of noise for residents, like S14 near Złotno or A1 on the eastern side of the city.
The traffic noise exposure in the city can be checked on the website, where maps of noise ranges from various sources in Lodz are illustrated. Such maps are prepared every 5 years and outline the current state at the time of the acoustic map measurements. Meanwhile, the noise protection program is a plan of actions that the city should take to reduce it. Currently, the law requires city authorities, including those in Lodz, to prepare an environmental noise protection program also in areas where its level is not exceeded and in designated quiet areas in the city (i.e., in the urban agglomeration, an area where the permissible noise levels expressed by the noise indicator LDWN are not exceeded).
In Poland, the topic of designating quiet areas in cities is marginally treated in spatial planning. However, in 2021, the European Commission adopted a plan as part of the European Green Deal called "Towards zero pollution for air, water, and soil". It aims, among other things, to reduce by 30% the share of people chronically disturbed by traffic noise, especially road traffic. To achieve the set goal, cooperation at the governmental, local government, and scientific levels is necessary. It also requires a multi-faceted approach to reducing noise pollution in urban spaces - for example, through actions including new or more restrictive noise regulations in transport, better urban and transport planning, the introduction of new technical measures to reduce noise (e.g., screens, panels, quiet surfaces, etc.), and a significant reduction of road traffic in cities.
