Noise barriers do not just block noise, but can also generally change the way noise is experienced around them. To further explore this issue, the Transportation Research Board (TRB)’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) recently published the RSG-coauthored report Field Evaluation of Reflected Noise from a Single Noise Barrier, which analyzes the characteristics of sound reflected from a noise barrier to the opposite side of a highway. Residents living opposite newly added single noise barriers sometimes complain about increased traffic noise. Currently available analytical tools are limited in their ability to evaluate this reflected noise and some of the subtle changes in the quality of sound that can occur when it is reflected. Therefore, it is a challenge to determine conclusively if complaints about reflected noise are the result of actual or perceived changes in noise characteristics, and to identify locations where absorptive surface treatments could be beneficial.

The study compares reflected noise from sound barriers with different surfaces and examines both the levels, frequencies, and quality of reflected noise to better understand how it is experienced by communities. The report is accompanied by several appendices, a tool, and a guide. Learn more and check them out at: http://www.trb.org/NCHRP/Blurbs/178305.aspx

While car manufacturers once touted their acceleration and high performance, now, it’s the included safety features that garner the most attention. RSG Director Jonathan Slason shares his recent experience with new assisted driving technology in his article “A Plea for Drivers to Slow Down… Assisted by In-Vehicle Technology.”

On Saturday, RSG’s Abbie Larkin presented at the Acadia National Park Science Symposium at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. The presentation, which was part of the session on using science to preserve resources and protect visitor experience, described RSG's work constructing models to inform transportation planning and visitor use management at Acadia National Park.

The symposium was designed to provide a forum to hear about science taking place in the region and to interact and build collaborations with scientists, students, park staff, and others working in a range of fields.

RSG Director Steven Gayle presented earlier this week at the ITE New York Upstate Section Annual Meeting in Scotia, NY. His presentation was titled “Planning for Future Mobility.” RSG is proud to have been a silver sponsor of the event.

RSG Director Steven Gayle to present this week at the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. His presentation is titled “Planning for Future Mobility in a Performance-Based World.” It will share RSG’s synthesis of future mobility research (autonomous, connected, electrified, shared) in an MPO context, including relating it to the new ‘transportation system performance’ planning requirement for MPOs and state departments of transportation (DOTs).

Did you know that meteorology can affect the sound adjacent to highways? RSG will be leading a Transportation Research Board (TRB) webinar on September 25 titled, “Meteorological Effects on Roadway Noise.” Presenters will describe the quantitative research and public outreach materials that state highway agencies can use to screen for meteorological influences and explain the effects to the public. Presenting alongside RSG's Ken Kaliski will be Roger Wayson of AECOM, Darlene Reiter of Bowlby and Associates, and Erik Salomons of TNO. It will be moderated by Aaron Hastings of Volpe Center.

Learn more and register at: https://webinar.mytrb.org/Webinars/Details/1220

RSG Director Chris Leggett’s research was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. The article, “Estimating the Value of Lost Recreation Days from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” describes a recreation choice model developed for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assess recreation-related losses resulting from the spill.

RSG’s Ken Kaliski will be presenting the paper “Regulating and Predicting Wind Turbine Sound in the US” at InterNoise 2018 in Chicago on August 29th. The presentation, also led Rob O’Neal and Mark Bastasch, will highlight key factors for local noise ordinances to consider, a review of various sound propagation modeling parameters for wind turbines, and a comparison of predicted values to the results of post-construction monitoring in the US.

RSG’s Maren Outwater, Jonathan Slason, and Chrisopher Coy will present this week at the 16th National Tools of the Trade Transportation Planning Conference. The event, taking place August 22-24 in Kansas City, Missouri, will share research and best professional practices in the planning, development, and implementation of multimodal transportation for small- and medium-sized communities. The conference will also discuss future research and implementation needs related to transportation planning for these communities. We are proud to be a sponsor.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) recently published Research Report 882: How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways, which documents the meteorological effects on roadway noise propagation under different atmospheric conditions. Highway noise changes from day to day and hour to hour—not just because of variations in traffic volumes, vehicle mix, and speed, but also because of the weather. The report, authored by RSG in cooperation with Bowlby & Associates, TNO, Wyle, Northeast Wind, and Volpe Center, develops guidance to identify when atmospheric conditions should or should not be considered in noise analyses.

Tools were developed to help explain these effects to the public, including a self-paced narrated slide presentation as well as a customizable four-panel brochure. In addition, a tool was developed to help predict the frequency of favorable and unfavorable atmospheric conditions given specific airport weather data. Check out the report and download these at http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/177926.aspx.