Assessment of Traffic Noise Level: A Case Study of a Residential Neighbourhood
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Summary
This study assesses traffic noise levels and their contributing factors in the Ishbiliya residential neighborhood of Kuwait, addressing the growing concern of ambient noise as a hazardous pollutant with negative health impacts. The research aims to investigate noise levels during peak and off-peak hours, evaluate compliance with permissible limits, and analyze the influence of traffic volume, heavy-vehicle speed, and meteorological parameters. The study focuses on three roadway types: an expressway, a major arterial route, and a collector street, to better understand urban noise exposure in a developing nation with rapid automotive growth. The methodology involved simultaneous monitoring at the three selected sites on October 10, 2021. Noise levels were measured using a Bruel & Kjaer outdoor sound level meter, while traffic volume and speed were recorded using a Spack Solutions Countcam 2 camera and a Decatur Genesis GHD-KPH speed detector, respectively. Meteorological data, including wind speed, temperature, and humidity, were captured using an Ambient Weather WM-5 Handheld Weather Meter. Data were collected at one-minute intervals and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression methods with a 95% significance level. The results indicate that traffic noise levels exceeded permissible limits across all three roadway types. The average equivalent noise levels (LAeq) were 74.2 dB(A) on the expressway, 70.47 dB(A) on the major arterial road, and 60.84 dB(A) on the collector street. A positive correlation was found between traffic noise and both traffic volume and the 85th percentile speed, with the correlation being strongest on the major arterial and collector streets. Conversely, no significant relationship was observed between noise levels and meteorological parameters. The study identified abnormal vehicle noise, caused by inadequate maintenance or user-enhanced exhaust systems, as a significant contributor to total noise measurements. Additionally, specific events such as airplane flyovers, police sirens, and mosque audio broadcasts caused notable spikes in noise levels, particularly on the collector street. The findings highlight that traffic noise in Kuwait’s residential areas consistently violates regulatory standards, posing a risk to public health. The strong correlation between traffic volume, speed variability, and noise levels underscores the importance of traffic management and vehicle maintenance in noise mitigation. The study contributes to the limited body of research on traffic noise in developing nations, providing empirical data that can inform policy decisions and urban planning strategies to reduce noise pollution in similar contexts.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | pdftotext | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| enrich | failed | — | — | — | 4 | 2026-06-26 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-26 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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