The Mayor's Ambient Noise Strategy - Greater London Authority

70 Mayor of London
The Mayor’s Ambient Noise Strategy
with a telephone number to contact, is an effective way of ensuring that
contractors do consider seriously the amount of noise (and dust, etc) they
cause, and actively look for ways to achieve reductions.
4A.22 A serious backlog of street maintenance work in London has built up
following years of under-funding. A survey by the London Borough of
Hammersmith and Fulham for the Government Office for London
(paragraph 4G.123 of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy) suggested that
£100 million was needed to bring London’s principal roads up to standard.
There are real noise benefits to be had in London from making up this
past under-investment in maintenance. Restoring smoother running
surfaces throughout the city would not show up in the ‘standard’ UK
noise model 12 , but annoying noise peaks, and the risk of groundborne
vibration, could be reduced.
4A.23 The effectiveness of more sophisticated noise mitigation measures would
be undermined if the basic road surfaces remain in the state many of
them are in. The immediate priority is to ensure that roads do not break
up and cause safety problems. However, improving surface quality on
streets with high numbers of heavy vehicles or carrying larger volumes of
traffic at night, is particularly important for noise. Planned, preventative
maintenance, avoiding the need for disruptive reconstruction, can deliver
noise and vibration benefits. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy calls for
development of a long term approach to the funding and management of
all aspects of street maintenance and the reduction of noise will form part
of this approach.
proposal 5 Transport for London will continue to work, with the London boroughs
and others where appropriate, to improve noise management of
streetworks and to make good the backlog of street maintenance, which
will itself contribute to reducing noise. This includes:
■ Balancing the competing needs of residents, road users and others,
having regard to the merits of each case;
■ Where possible, prioritising maintenance backlog reduction in streets
where heavy vehicles are concentrated and streets with higher night
flows; and
■ Taking account, in any ‘lane rental’ scheme encouraging rapid completion
of streetworks, of the potential for adverse noise impact and providing
appropriate mitigation, for example if there is night-time working.
Noise reducing road surfaces
4A.24 Following reductions in engine and other noise, noise produced by the
interaction of tyres with the road surface has become relatively more
significant. 13 The logical technological priority for reducing noise from cars