Strategic noise mapping and noise action plans of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Pafos major roads - 1St Round under directive 2002/49/EU

Abstract

In the context of compliance with the relevant Directive 2002/49/EU, Cyprus has developed Strategic Noise Mapping of major roads having more than 6.000.000 vehicle passages a year. The relevant Noise Action Plans were prepared in order to reduce environmental noise in the cases that the limit values are exceeded. The mapping was completed for four major urban agglomerations of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaka and Pafos. In order to be able to calibrate the relevant noise prediction models 71 24hour measurements were executed in the road axes by using specialized mobile noise monitoring stations with the proper configuration in order to fulfill the requirements of the directive. All roads and a buffer zone of at least 200 meters on each side of the road axes were detailed surveyed with a parallel estimation of the land use and the population living in residential buildings as per the relevant available data of the census. The maps that were drafted referred to the Lden and Lnight indices, as the directive dictates, per agglomeration and per Strategic and Noise Action planning, accordingly. The traffic data used for the mapping were those available for 2007. The goal of the mapping was to estimate the population exposure to different noise zones according to the methodology used by the member states of the EU. Moreover all the above information had to be presented to the public in order to inform about environmental noise and its effects. Finally, the relevant Noise Action plans were to be drafted in order to prevent and protect from environmental noise as well as to preserve the areas were the levels of the noise environment are in acceptable values for the public.