TRANSIT NOISE AND VIBRATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT FTA-VA-90-1003-06 May 2006 Office of Planning and Environment Federal Transit Administration Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 Public 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 maintaining the 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 for reducing 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 of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED May 2006 Final Report 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment 6. AUTHOR(S) Carl E. Hanson, David A. Towers, and Lance D. Meister 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. REPORT NUMBER 77 South Bedford Street 299600 Burlington, MA 01803 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Department of Transportation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Federal Transit Administration Office of Planning and Environment FTA-VA-90-1003-06 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Contract management and final production performed by: Frank Spielberg and Kristine Wickham Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. 8300 Boone Blvd., Suite 700 Vienna, VA 22182 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield VA 22161. 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 and assessing 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 early planning before mode and alignment have been selected through preliminary engineering and final design. Both for noise and vibration, there are three levels of analysis described. The framework acts as a screening process, reserving detailed analysis for 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 of noise and vibration during the construction stage and also discussion of how the technical information should be presented in the Federal Transit Administration’s environmental documents. This guidance will be of interest not only to technical specialists who conduct the analyses but also to transit agency staff, federal agency reviewers, and members of the general public who may be affected by the projects. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Transit noise and vibration analysis, noise and vibration impact criteria, noise and vibration 274 mitigation measures, environmental impact assessment, National Environmental Policy Act compliance. 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18298-102 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government 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 are considered essential to the content of the report. TRANSIT NOISE AND VIBRATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT FTA-VA-90-1003-06 May 2006 Prepared for: Federal Transit Administration Office of Planning and Environment Washington DC 20590 Prepared by: Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. 77 South Bedford Street Burlington, MA 01803 Produced by: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. 8300 Boone Boulevard, Suite 700 Vienna, VA 22182 Table of Contents vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE............................................................................................................................ xvii 1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Purpose...................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 The Environmental Review Process .......................................................................1-1 1.3 Noise and Vibration Analysis in Planning and Project Development ......................1-3 1.4 Organization of the Manual.....................................................................................1-5 References.......................................................................................................................1-6 2. BASIC NOISE CONCEPTS .........................................................................................2-1 2.1 Fundamentals of Noise ...........................................................................................2-2 2.2 Sources of Transit Vehicle Noise............................................................................2-6 2.3 Paths of Transit Noise, From Source to Receiver.................................................2-10 2.4 Receiver Response to Transit Noise ....................................................................2-13 2.5 Descriptors for Transit Noise ................................................................................2-15 2.5.1 A-weighted Sound Level: The Basic Noise Unit ......................................2-15 2.5.2 Maximum Sound Level (Lmax) During a Single Noise Event ....................2-16 2.5.3 Sound Exposure Level (SEL): Exposure from a Single Noise Event.......2-17 2.5.4 Hourly Equivalent Sound Level (Leq(h)) ...................................................2-19 2.5.5 Day-Night Sound Level (Ldn): 24-Hour Exposure from All Events ...........2-22 2.5.6 A Noise-Exposure Analogy for Leq and Ldn ...............................................2-24 2.5.7 Summary of Noise Descriptors................................................................2-25 References.....................................................................................................................2-26 3. NOISE IMPACT CRITERIA..........................................................................................3-1 3.1 Noise Impact Criteria for Transit Projects ...............................................................3-2 3.1.1 Basis of Noise Impact Criteria ...................................................................3-3 3.1.2 Defining the Levels of Impact ....................................................................3-5 3.2 Application of Noise Impact Criteria........................................................................3-7 3.2.1 Noise-Sensitive Land Uses .......................................................................3-7 3.2.2 Noise Metrics.............................................................................................3-8 3.2.3 Considerations in Applying the Noise Impact Criteria................................3-9 3.2.4 Mitigation Policy Considerations..............................................................3-10 3.2.5 Determining the Need for Noise Mitigation..............................................3-11 3.3 Noise Impact Criteria for Highway/Transit Projects ..............................................3-13 3.3.1 FHWA Impact Criteria..............................................................................3-14 3.3.2 Use of Impact Criteria..............................................................................3-15 References.....................................................................................................................3-17 viii Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment 4. NOISE SCREENING PROCEDURE ............................................................................4-1 4.1 Screening Distances ...............................................................................................4-1 4.2 Steps in Screening Procedure ................................................................................4-2 References.......................................................................................................................4-5 5. GENERAL NOISE ASSESSMENT ..............................................................................5-1 5.1 Overview .................................................................................................................5-2 5.2 Noise Source Levels for General Assessment .......................................................5-4 5.2.1 Fixed-Guideway Transit Sources ..............................................................5-4