Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Mobility - Transport Research ...

transport noise and the reduction in rent payments for homes exposed to noise) andhuman health impacts (through the effects of noise on physical and mental healthdisorders and the costs associated death and illness as a result of these effects). In afurther project, estimates were made of the costs associated with building damage due toroad and rail transport in Switzerland, again for the year 2000. Methodology in this caseinvolved estimating the costs of repairing and cleaning building facades exposed to highlevels of traffic, base on expert opinion and a commercial database of buildings. Yetanother Swiss project has estimated the external costs of transport on the landscape andnatural environment, focusing most particularly on habitat loss and reduced quality ofnatural habitats. Habitat loss is monetarised by estimating the costs of repairing habitatdamage. Fragmentation of natural habitats has been estimated through the use of aerialphotography, and the costs associated with such fragmentation estimated with reference tothe costs of re-linking the separated sections. It proved impossible to monetarise the costsassociated with reduced quality of habitat (FAIR AND EFFICIENT PRICES FORTRANSPORTATION).A common method of measuring noise impacts uses the A-weighted decibel measure:dB(A). The L10 dB(A) measure calculates the noise level exceeded for 10% of the time. Anexample of such research into noise monitoring is the study into the impact of the Nenaghby-pass in Ireland, on noise reduction in the town. In this project, noise measurementswere taken at five locations in the town in June 2000 (prior to the bypass opening) andOctober 2000 (after the opening), and the data used to calculate L10 (18 hour) dB(A)values (the mean of the hourly L10 levels in the period 06:00 hours to midnight) (Kenny,2000).Many transport environmental impacts are at local or regional rather than national level,and research has been undertaken to determine the regional dimension. Research inDenmark, for example, has led to the development of methodologies for the assessment ofthe environmental and economic impacts of transport system changes and changes in theregulation of the transport system, which are likely to be implemented at a regional level.The approach taken in this work has been to conduct a case study centred on a(hypothetical) road pricing system in Denmark. A key aspect of this work is that theevaluation of user benefits from transport activities has been extended to include optionvalues and existence values (INTEGRATED TRAFFIC, REGIONAL ECONOMIC ANDIMPACT MODELS).Many parts of Europe are heavily dependent on the diesel engine. Ireland is one suchcountry and the Irish government has sponsored research into options for reducing dieselparticulate emissions. A new system for measuring diesel particulates has been developedand tested, and the results have been compared with those from more establishedmeasurement techniques. Further work has included the design and construction of aThematic Research Summary: “Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Mobility” Page: 23 of 48Transport Research Knowledge Centre