Refining noise maps for public dissemination

To comply with the EU Environmental Noise Directive, Member States must now ensure that environmental noise maps are produced for designated areas and presented to the public in a clear, comprehensible and accessible manner. As such it is important that the noise maps presented are accurate and, perhaps more particularly, satisfy public analysis. It is suggested that an alternative to the L_den indicator might be used to accommodate public understanding and thus enable noise maps to be adaptable to suit various public needs. To achieve this, the production of a flexible accurate noise map with a capability of displaying results using a variety of methods corresponding to different acoustic situations is necessary. This paper deals with the creation of such a map including an analysis of inaccuracy and the potential for the presentation of this error. Maps were initially created by means of noise prediction methods and then refined through the integration of on-site environmental noise measurements. It was therefore possible to identify the error in the mapping process and present this information integrated into the noise map.