TRANSIT NOISE AND VIBRATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT

TRANSIT NOISE AND VIBRATIONIMPACT ASSESSMENTFTA-VA-90-1003-06May 2006Office of Planning and EnvironmentFederal Transit Administration

Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGEPublic reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintainingthe data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions forreducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office ofManagement and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503.1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank)2. REPORT DATE3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVEREDMay 2006Final Report4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE5. FUNDING NUMBERSTransit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment6. AUTHOR(S)Carl E. Hanson, David A. Towers, and Lance D. Meister8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONREPORT NUMBER7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc.77 South Bedford StreetBurlington, MA 018032996009. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)10. SPONSORING/MONITORINGAGENCY REPORT NUMBERU.S. Department of TransportationFederal Transit AdministrationOffice of Planning and Environment1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.Washington, DC 20590FTA-VA-90-1003-0611. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTESContract management and final production performed by:Frank Spielberg and Kristine WickhamVanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.8300 Boone Blvd., Suite 700Vienna, VA 2218212a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT12b. DISTRIBUTION CODEThis document is available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield VA22161. Phone: 1-888-584-8332 or 703-605-6050; Web site: www.ntis.gov.13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)This report is the second edition of a guidance manual originally issued in 1995 which presents procedures for predicting andassessing noise and vibration impacts of proposed mass transit projects. All types of bus and rail projects are covered.Procedures for assessing noise and vibration impacts are provided for different stages of project development, from earlyplanning before mode and alignment have been selected through preliminary engineering and final design. Both for noise andvibration, there are three levels of analysis described. The framework acts as a screening process, reserving detailed analysisfor projects with the greatest potential for impacts while allowing a simpler process for projects with little or no effects.This updated guidance contains noise and vibration impact criteria that are used to assess the magnitude of predicted impacts.A range of mitigation measures are described for dealing with adverse noise and vibration impacts. There is a discussion ofnoise and vibration during the construction stage and also discussion of how the technical information should be presented inthe Federal Transit Administration’s environmental documents. This guidance will be of interest not only to technicalspecialists who conduct the analyses but also to transit agency staff, federal agency reviewers, and members of the generalpublic who may be affected by the projects.14. SUBJECT TERMS15. NUMBER OF PAGESTransit noise and vibration analysis, noise and vibration impact criteria, noise and vibrationmitigation measures, environmental impact assessment, National Environmental Policy Actcompliance.17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONOF REPORTUnclassifiedNSN 7540-01-280-5500Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18298-10218. SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONOF THIS PAGEUnclassified19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONOF ABSTRACT27416. PRICE CODE20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACTUnclassifiedStandard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)

NOTICEThis document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department ofTransportation in the interest of information exchange. The United StatesGovernment assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof.The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.Trade or manufacturers’ names appear in the document only because they areconsidered essential to the content of the report.

TRANSIT NOISE AND VIBRATION IMPACT ASSESSMENTFTA-VA-90-1003-06Prepared for:Federal Transit AdministrationOffice of Planning and EnvironmentWashington DC 20590Prepared by:Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc.77 South Bedford StreetBurlington, MA 01803Produced by:Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.8300 Boone Boulevard, Suite 700Vienna, VA 22182May 2006

Table of ContentsviiTABLE OF CONTENTSPREFACE. xvii1.INTRODUCTION . 1-11.1 Purpose. 1-11.2 The Environmental Review Process . 1-11.3 Noise and Vibration Analysis in Planning and Project Development . 1-31.4 Organization of the Manual . 1-5References. 1-62.BASIC NOISE CONCEPTS . 2-12.1 Fundamentals of Noise . 2-22.2 Sources of Transit Vehicle Noise. 2-62.3 Paths of Transit Noise, From Source to Receiver. 2-102.4 Receiver Response to Transit Noise . 2-132.5 Descriptors for Transit Noise . 2-152.5.1 A-weighted Sound Level: The Basic Noise Unit . 2-152.5.2 Maximum Sound Level (Lmax) During a Single Noise Event . 2-162.5.3 Sound Exposure Level (SEL): Exposure from a Single Noise Event. 2-172.5.4 Hourly Equivalent Sound Level (Leq(h)) . 2-192.5.5 Day-Night Sound Level (Ldn): 24-Hour Exposure from All Events . 2-222.5.6 A Noise-Exposure Analogy for Leq and Ldn . 2-242.5.7 Summary of Noise Descriptors . 2-25References. 2-263.NOISE IMPACT CRITERIA. 3-13.1 Noise Impact Criteria for Transit Projects . 3-23.1.1 Basis of Noise Impact Criteria . 3-33.1.2 Defining the Levels of Impact . 3-53.2 Application of Noise Impact Criteria . 3-73.2.1 Noise-Sensitive Land Uses . 3-73.2.2 Noise Metrics . 3-83.2.3 Considerations in Applying the Noise Impact Criteria. 3-93.2.4 Mitigation Policy Considerations. 3-103.2.5 Determining the Need for Noise Mitigation . 3-113.3 Noise Impact Criteria for Highway/Transit Projects . 3-133.3.1 FHWA Impact Criteria. 3-143.3.2 Use of Impact Criteria . 3-15References. 3-17

viiiTransit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment4.NOISE SCREENING PROCEDURE . 4-14.1 Screening Distances . 4-14.2 Steps in Screening Procedure . 4-2References. 4-55.GENERAL NOISE ASSESSMENT . 5-15.1 Overview . 5-25.2 Noise Source Levels for General Assessment . 5-45.2.1 Fixed-Guideway Transit Sources . 5-45.2.2 Highway/Transit Sources. 5-75.2.3 Stationary Sources . 5-95.3 Computation of Noise Exposure-vs.-Distance Curves. 5-125.4 Estimating Existing Noise Exposure . 5-135.5 Determining Noise Impact Contours . 5-155.6 Inventory Noise Impact . 5-17References. 5-306.DETAILED NOISE ANALYSIS . 6-16.1 Receivers of Interest . 6-46.1.1 Identifying Noise-Sensitive Land Uses . 6-46.1.2 Selecting Individual Receivers of Interest. 6-56.1.3 Clustering Residential Neighborhoods and Noise-Sensitive Areas . 6-66.2 Project Noise. 6-76.2.1 Fixed-Guideway Sources. 6-76.2.2 Highway/Transit Sources. 6-146.2.3 Stationary Sources . 6-186.3 Propagation Characteristics. 6-216.3.1 Noise Exposure vs. Distance. 6-216.3.2 Shielding at each Receiver . 6-256.3.3 Combined Propagation Characteristics . 6-286.4 Combined Noise Exposure from All Sources . 6-286.5 Maximum Noise Level for Fixed-Guideway Sources . 6-296.6 Study Area Characteristics . 6-306.6.1 Deciding Whether to Measure, Compute or Estimate . 6-306.6.2 Noise Exposure Measurements . 6-316.6.3 Noise Exposure Computations from Partial Measurements . 6-316.6.4 Estimating Existing Noise Exposure . 6-336.7 Noise Impact Assessment . 6-336.7.1 Assessment for Rail and Bus Facilities . 6-346.7.2 Assessment for Highway/Transit Projects . 6-356.8 Mitigation of Noise Impact. 6-366.8.1 Noise Mitigation Measures . 6-366.8.2 Source Treatments . 6-376.8.3 Path Treatments . 6-416.8.4 Receiver Treatments . 6-43References. 6-45

Table of Contentsix7.BASIC GROUND-BORNE VIBRATION CONCEPTS. 7-17.1 Descriptors of Ground-Borne Vibration and Noise. 7-37.1.1 Vibratory Motion. 7-37.1.2 Amplitude Descriptors . 7-37.1.3 Ground-Borne Noise. 7-47.2 Human Perception of Ground-Borne Vibration and Noise . 7-57.2.1 Typical Levels of Ground-Borne Vibration and Noise. 7-57.2.2 Quantifying Human Response to Ground-Borne Vibration and Noise . 7-67.3 Ground-Borne Vibration for Different Transit Modes . 7-87.4 Factors that Influence Ground-Borne Vibration and Noise . 7-10References. 7-128.VIBRATION IMPACT CRITERIA . 8-18.1 Vibration Impact Criteria for General Assessment. 8-28.1.1 Sensitive-Use Categories . 8-28.1.2 Existing Vibration Conditions . 8-48.1.3 Application to Freight Trains . 8-58.2 Vibration Impact Criteria for Detailed Analysis. 8-68.2.1 Ground-Borne Vibration. 8-68.2.2 Ground-Borne Noise. 8-8References. 8-99.VIBRATION SCREENING PROCEDURE. 9-19.1 Steps in Screening Procedure . 9-19.2 Screening Distances . 9-39.2.1 Project Categories . 9-39.2.2 Distances . 9-310. GENERAL VIBRATION ASSESSMENT. 10-110.1 Selection of Base Curve for Ground Surface Vibration Level . 10-210.2 Adjustments . 10-610.3 Inventory of Vibration-Impacted Locations. 10-12References. 10-1311. DETAILED VIBRATION ANALYSIS. 11-111.1 Characterizing Existing Vibration Conditions . 11-211.2 Vibration Prediction Procedure . 11-511.2.1 Overview of Prediction Procedure . 11-511.2.2 Major Steps in Detailed Analysis . 11-811.3 Measuring Transfer Mobility and Force Density . 11-1211.3.1 Instrumentation . 11-1311.3.2 Analysis of Transfer Mobility Data . 11-1511.3.3 Deriving Force Density . 11-1711.4 Assessment of Vibration Impact . 11-1711.5 Vibration Mitigation. 11-18References. 11-24

xTransit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment12. NOISE AND VIBRATION DURING CONSTRUCTION. 12-112.1 Construction Noise Assessment . 12-112.1.1 Quantitative Noise Assessment Methods . 12-312.1.2 Noise from Typical Construction Equipment and Operations . 12-512.1.3 Construction Noise Criteria. 12-712.1.4 Mitigation of Construction Noise . 12-812.2 Construction Vibration Assessment . 12-1012.2.1 Quantitative Construction Vibration Assessment Methods. 12-1112.2.2 Vibration Source Levels from Construction Equipment . 12-1212.2.3 Construction Vibration Mitigation . 12-13References. 12-1513. DOCUMENTATION OF NOISE AND VIBRATION ASSESSMENT . 13-113.1 The Technical Report on Noise and Vibration . 13-113.1.1 Organization of Technical Report . 13-213.2 The Environmental Document . 13-313.2.1 Organization of Sections of Environmental Documents . 13-5APPENDICESAPPENDIX A – GLOSSARY OF TERMS.A-1APPENDIX B – BACKGROUND FOR TRANSIT NOISE IMPACT CRITERIA.B-

Transit noise and vibration analysis, noise and vibration impact criteria, noise and vibration mitigation measures, environmental impact assessment, National Environmental Policy Act compliance. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 274 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT Unclassified 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE Unclassified 19.