Noise pollution – a growing issue for schools
- Particularly school children are vulnerable to noise
- Road traffic is primary noise source
- Spanish city shows the way forward
Vienna, June 27, 2024 – According to the European Environmental Agency, more than 100 million people in Europe are exposed to harmful levels of noise pollution, most of which comes from road traffic.
After air pollution, road traffic noise is among the most damaging environmental health factors, specifically for children: a 2022 study found that road traffic noise experienced by primary school children in Barcelona, Spain, slowed down their working memory and attention span, which is considered essential for many aspects of learning. Unwanted noise in the classroom can cause a child to experience several possible negative responses, such as learned helplessness – low motivation to learn due to the lack of control in their environment – and impaired attention, the study found.
Combating pollution without heavy infrastructure spending
For cities, this means that urban design needs to adapt to move road traffic away from school zones and residential areas in order to protect public health and ensure a proper environment for school children. One way to do this is to deploy a modern traffic management system that actively guides traffic through other routes, so that fewer trips are taken in these sensitive areas.
Another efficient way to reduce noise pollution is to ensure that traffic flows reliably on the main traffic arteries, so drivers do not need to rely on secondary routes through sensitives areas. With modern technology, not only can the traffic systems be adapted to current demand, but they can also predict the traffic behavior, allowing the traffic managers to address situations before they become critical.
Seville: data-based traffic management to improve congestion
One city that is already deploying this technology is the Spanish city of Seville. In the metropolitan region of 1.5 million people, the introduction of the Mobility Data Platform (MDP) by Kapsch TrafficCom represents a significant advancement in combating urban congestion, among other environmental challenges. This platform, which integrates data from a vast network of environmental sensors, traffic cameras, and existing traffic systems across the city, provides city authorities with critical decision-making intelligence.
By facilitating real-time traffic management, including dynamic traffic control and demand-based public transport regulation, the MDP enhances traffic flow and reduces congestion. This, in turn, decreases the noise pollution that negatively impacts urban environments, improving the quality of life for citizens the city and ensuring less stress, chronic diseases and better academic performance of children in the city.
Kapsch TrafficCom is a globally renowned provider of transportation solutions for sustainable mobility with successful projects in more than 50 countries. Innovative solutions in the application fields of tolling, tolling services, traffic management and demand management contribute to a healthy world without congestion.
With one-stop-shop solutions, the company covers the entire value chain of customers, from components to design and implementation to the operation of systems.
Kapsch TrafficCom, headquartered in Vienna, has subsidiaries and branches in more than 25 countries and is listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: KTCG). In its 2023/24 financial year, about 4,000 employees generated revenues of EUR 539 million.