Considerations to Establish Ground-Borne Noise Criteria to Define Mitigation for Noise-Sensitive Spaces

FTA provides guidance for the evaluation of impacts to a variety of noise- and vibration-sensitive uses along a rail transit system. Included under the category of special buildings are concert halls or sound-recording facilities and auditoriums. The impact criteria for ground-borne noise from the transit systems into such spaces are maximum noise levels of 25 or 30 dBA, respectively, far more restrictive than for any other category considered in the FTA Guidance Manual. Conformance with these impact criteria is necessary to avoid significant impact during environmental analysis but may not be a sufficient evaluation of the effect of the transit systems. Some special parameters that should be considered for any rail transportation project that seeks to become a close neighbor of such facilities are discussed.