https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022460X06000927

Shows that road traffic exceeding 60 decibels cause health concerns. Other research papers (idk which ones, google probably has it) give you break downs of how long it takes for hearing damage based on decibel levels. Highways average at like 75db last I checked.

Straight pipes are loud but at around 100 decibels it would still take something like 5 (maybe 10?) minutes to cause hearing damage. You'll be able to hear it for a while after it moves away if it's putting out that much sound but the sound levels drop as it moves, meaning more time before damage occurs.

Also by capping do you mean just putting up sound barriers around the highway or are we talking a sort of fully enclosed system?

[deleted]

> if you want to do a big St Patricks day thing, go to Newport.

Hah yep, it's either a fantastic or a terrible place to be on St. Patrick's depending on who you are

I want to make sure you're not misunderstanding my point or putting words in my mouth...I'm not saying the highway is awesome and we should let to go unchecked.

I'm saying that a bunch of sources of the most annoying sounds can be solved like today, for free. Capping off the highway through the city (which seems like a good idea to me), will take like 20 years and billions of dollars.

It just seems logical to start squashing the quick and easy sound pollution rather than just twiddling our thumbs and hoping that DOT scrapes together the money and support for a PVD Big Dig.

>https://www.cirrusresearch.co.uk/blog/2020/04/4-different-types-noise/

Thanks for the link, but that doesn't support what you said about low constant noise causing the biggest health problems, it's just categorizing types of noise. I'm looking for a comparison of what types of sounds cause what types of complications like you referenced earlier, so I can update my opinion to match reality if necessary.

https://www.cirrusresearch.co.uk/blog/2020/04/4-different-types-noise/

the highway composes 3 out of 4 of those types of sound pollution. And currently with the construction it can cover all 4. Do you really think the occasional muffler is more of a problem than the giant highway? The highway that has construction vehicles driving on it which are significantly louder than a straight pipe?

You don't like loud mufflers, that's fine. The solution is already there, the police give out tickets for straight pipes and other illegal modifications all the time. The highway has no solution in place and is a significant cause of noise pollution. Try fixing the problem that benefits the whole city instead of your street.

Newport is where you oughta get rowdy on st paddy's

Nice

> If you look into what causes health issues from noise pollution you will find that it is continuous or constant noise

I did look into it, and that's not what I found. Can you please help me out and share your source so I can learn more?

You are 100% correct. Enforcement is a tool but not necessarily our goal at Community Noise Lab.

Please reach out to us if you are interested! You call, we come!

Not yet. But great points.

We have both short-term and long-term measurements. And 3dB can be quite noticeable. Sound is on a logarithmic scale.

If you look into what causes health issues from noise pollution you will find that it is continuous or constant noise - a car driving by with a broken muffler is not continuous or constant.

The highway has a constant flow of cars (some of which might even have broken mufflers!) which means a constant source of sound. Mufflers contribute to the pollution, they are not the main source. The giant highway cutting through the center of the city is.

Intrigued. Can you dm me a sample? I haven't played stoner in a bit but would love to get back to it - happy to send my stuff too :)

Lando CalRIFFian

Just the rough practice stuff right now, but I’ll come back around when the demo is out and show you!

While we’re dreaming here, i’d have it go from barrington into warwick under the river, and hit up the airport

> The issue is a "constant low drum" is what causes the health issues.

Source? I am not finding anything with that phrase you quoted, nor other places that differentiate between constant and quiet and loud and intermittent noises. There is a lot of focus on sleep disturbance and hearing loss, which seems to indicate occasional and loud noises, but I'm not seeing them broken out specifically. But you clearly have read more than me, can you share where you're getting your conclusion from?

> You can also look into Japan's 40ish year fight with highway noise and making efficient panels to reduce a major source of sound pollution for any more information.

Are you implying that Japan hasn't done anything to curb loud exhausts, and instead focused entirely on normal highway noise while letting people run around without mufflers willy-nilly? That doesn't seem right, but again...maybe you know something I don't.

Please tell me you have something recorded you can share. I need to know more

The issue is a "constant low drum" is what causes the health issues. A brief annoyance at someone driving by with a straight pipe doesn't happen all day, every day.

You can see in the study this post talks about that the highest levels of noise pollution line up with the highway, which means the low constant drum is the issue.

You can also look into Japan's 40ish year fight with highway noise and making efficient panels to reduce a major source of sound pollution for any more information.

People are allowed to drive on a fix it ticket for 7 days. Doesn't matter if it's at night or not.

> if all the other noise goes down one outlier is tolerable.

Idk, I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I'd much prefer the constant, quiter, hum of highway traffic over an occasional blast of a car going by with open headers.

> Just because that's the one that annoys you doesn't mean it's the most prevalent or the most damaging one

Are you positing that quieter, constant sound is worse than occasional louder ones? Is there science to support that? Or are you just saying that we don't know what's worse, so we shouldn't even attempt to curb the already-illegal noises by enforcing existing rules?

> someone trying to get their car to the shop after their catalytic converter has been stolen

First of all, I'm pretty sure catalytic converter theft is illegal, so that still stems from an enforcement issue.

Second, I think we both know that people zipping up and down residential roads late at night aren't just trying to hobble their broken car to a shop.

Terrible idea. Use your time for better things

Urban planning won't entirely eliminate things like illegal mufflers, but if all the other noise goes down one outlier is tolerable.

Just because that's the one that annoys you doesn't mean it's the most prevalent or the most damaging one, and "illegal mufflers" can also be someone trying to get their car to the shop after their catalytic converter has been stolen. Or a broken pipe. Fix it tickets gives them 7 days to drive on that legally.

There's a whole list of call types that don't get a lights and siren response. You might just be living in an area that's near a major thoroughfare for the fire department. Also the busiest stations in Providence go to more calls than the busy stations in Boston. Engine 3 downtown is the busiest in the northeast.

Hi, my name is Erica and I am the founder of Community Noise Lab at Brown University School of Pubic Health. We were not interviewed for this piece, are not associated with the Providence Noise Project, and are staunchly anti-quiet. Rather, we are pro-peace. Now, peace may involve quiet but it is not necessarily our end goal. If you have any questions about what we do, you can always reach out to me.