The third edition of the event resulted in an uneven reduction in noise pollution levels, according to Bruitparif.
Parisians were able to breathe this Sunday. In the capital, cars and their polluting emissions were banned from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The “Car Free Day” aims to raise awareness about air pollution, but not only. The noise nuisance caused by traffic is also at the heart of the concerns of the Paris city hall, which wishes to reduce the traffic of cars in Paris.
However, this year, the third edition of this event did not produce the expected effects on noise pollution levels. “The Bruitparif measurement stations deployed near major roads in Paris made it possible to monitor in real time the impact on the sound environment” of the Car-Free Day, explains the Parisian agency in a communicated. This year, the perimeter was extended to cover all of intramural Paris, with the exception of the ring road in the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes.
Average decrease of 20%
Within the traffic restriction perimeter, nine measurement stations made it possible to document, second after second, the variations in sound levels observed on major roads (avenue des Champs-Elysées, rue de Rivoli, boulevard de Sébastopol, high quays right bank, left bank quay Anatole France) or large squares (place Saint Michel, place Stalingrad).
The results of these stations were compared to measurements taken on the previous Sundays in September (September 10, 17 and 24) with usual traffic. Two noise measurement sites on the Paris ring-road (Porte d’Auteuil and between Porte de Bagnolet and Porte des Lilas) also made it possible to identify whether noise modifications were induced on this axis which had remained open to traffic.
“The overall average reduction in noise observed between 11 am and 6 pm within the restricted traffic perimeter is around -1 dB (A). This is equivalent to sound energy reduced by around 20%, ”announces Bruitparif.
Differences between sites
But these results hide differences according to the documented sites. Thus, the avenue des Champs-Elysées experienced the most noticeable drop in sound level: -2.7 dB (A) between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. compared to the previous Sundays, i.e. sound energy roughly halved.
The variations in sound levels observed at most of the other sites in Paris were lower, between -0.3 dB (A) and -1.9 dB (A). On certain sites (for example Place de la Bataille Stalingrad), festive events generated at certain times (between 12 and 1 p.m. and between 4 and 5 p.m. in particular) “sufficiently high sound levels to temporarily and locally counterbalance the observed decrease in noise. circulation ”.
Reductions in noise levels from road traffic were also very dependent on the actual conditions of application of the “Car Free Day” operation. It should be remembered that certain vehicles were authorized to circulate: buses, taxis, emergency vehicles. “It is also probable that all the vehicles did not respect the speed limit which had been fixed at 30 km / h”, one can read.
A “less” reduction
At the level of the rue de Rivoli and the quai de Gesvres sector, it was rather observed an increase in sound levels (+1.2 dB (A) on the rue de Rivoli, +1.1 dB (A) at the level du quai de Gesvres), due in particular to a higher number of noise peaks linked to emergency vehicle sirens compared to a usual Sunday.
On the ring road which had remained open to traffic, Bruitparif stations also “observed an increase in noise levels due to a probable increase in traffic due to the postponement effect”.
The improvement in the sound environment observed during this third edition “therefore appears to be less than what had been observed during the first two editions” (respective average decreases of -2.1 dB (A) in 2015 and -3, 2 dB (A) in 2016), despite an enlarged scope, concludes Bruitparif.
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