Traffic Noise Mitigation in Hong Kong

This dissertation, "Traffic Noise Mitigation in Hong Kong" by Kam-wah, Law, 羅錦華, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of dissertation entitled Traffic Noise Mitigation in Hong Kong Submitted by LAW Kam-Wah For the degree of Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning at the University of Hong Kong in June 2005 Traffic noise is a major noise pollution in Hong Kong. Nearly one million people are exposed to severe traffic noise that is greater than 70 db(A) according to the statistics from Environmental Protection Department in 2004. Traffic noise gives nuisance, especially at night, to people residing close to those busy trafficked roads in urban areas. Hong Kong has limited land resource but also has high population and vehicle densities. With the rapid growth in traffic and construction of infrastructure to cope with the economic development in the recent years, it is expected that traffic noise problems would get even worse in the next two decades in Hong Kong if no further improvement in noise mitigation is provided. This dissertation investigates the traffic noise problems in Hong Kong and analyzes quantitatively the mitigation measures that can be used. It is found that the traffic noise situation is unique in Hong Kong compared with the many overseas countries. Due to limited land resources and lack of environmental planning in the past, residential developments in Hong Kong are often located very close to existing or planned roads. Most of the residential buildings in urban areas are high rise in nature in Hong Kong, forming a 'canyon effect' to the reverberation of traffic noise. The alignment of new roads through developed and highly populated area is usually constrained by existing land uses and topography, leaving little scopes for road realignment or set back of buildings in planning. The noise policies and the state-of-art traffic noise mitigation measures commonly adopted in overseas are also reviewed in detail and the lessons learnt are given in the study. A comprehensive review on the various traffic noise mitigation measures (both engineering measures such as the use of noise barriers and low-noise road surfacing materials and non-engineering measures such as traffic management schemes) adopted in Hong Kong and their practical limitations are discussed in this dissertation. The choice and use of the different noise-reducing measures will depend on the physical site constraints, cost effectiveness, political acceptance and the cultural value that form the basis for decision-making. It is found that the most appropriate solution would likely be a combination of the various noise mitigation measures. In the last section of the dissertation, the existing traffic noise policy in Hong Kong is reviewed. The current approach in tackling road traffic noise in Hong Kong is considered on the right track. Recommendations on refining the policy and on traffic noise mitigation measures adopted in Hong Kong are suggested. It is considered that effective noise control should be focused on the integrated land-use, transport and environmental planning throughout the design and implementation of highways and housing developments as far as possible. Every party concerned, including the Government departments, developers and professionals has to put effort and work together to prevent and to mitigate the traffic noise problems, so that a sustainable development can be made in Hong Kong. ______________________ An abstract of 483 words DOI: 10.5353/th_