Traffic noise in Kuwait: Profiles and modeling residents' perceptions

Measurements of traffic noise at the edge of traffic lanes and at distances equivalent to residence locations, and traffic flow variables for nine fre eway/arterial/collector roadway locations in Kuwait are presented. The perc eived annoyance impact of traffic noise on a sample of 1,182 exposed reside nts is described. Principal factor analysis, correlation analysis, and step wise linear/nonlinear regressions are employed to investigate how well perc eptions and noise levels correlate. The mean equivalent noise level was str ongly and positively correlated with the total traffic volume, the mean tra vel speed, and roadway class. The mean equivalent noise levels, measured at distances equivalent to where the residents Live, also demonstrated positi ve and significant correlations with sleeping, reading, resting, telephone conversation, and watching TV-the main welfare indicators of residents' ann oyance. Investigations mainly focus on likely relationships between exposed residents' annoyance and measured traffic noise levels. Results indicate t hat exposure to higher traffic noise levels was naturally associated with i ncreasing annoyance. Residents were most annoyed with noise from traffic at collector streets.