Photo credit: Eduardo Romero
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Greater Greater Washington published a blog post by Pete Rodrigue last month about noise pollution. According to the website, Greater’s mission is “to inform, engage, and influence the public and policy-makers to advance racial, economic, and environmental justice in land use, housing, and transportation throughout greater housing.” The publication states that it welcomes blog posts from a diverse community of volunteers.
Rodrigue asked me to review a draft of this blog post, and we spoke on the phone. I was happy to share my thoughts about urban transportation noise and associated gaseous and particulate matter air pollution. I later shared, over email, some of my favorite scientific articles about the dangers of noise for health.
His data collection and graphics are impressive, documenting excessive levels of transportation noise pollution in D.C. His proposals for pedestrianized streets are similar to initiatives in other cities such as Barcelona and Paris. Rodrigue sent a copy of his report to the District Department of Transportation, but has not received a response. I suggested that he reach out to his elected representatives to try to move his ideas forward.
Noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. Transportation noise is the major source of unwanted noise pollution. There can be no rational doubt that transportation noise has adverse effects on human health. We wish Rodrigue success. After all, D.C. has banned gas-powered leaf blowers, demonstrating that a concerted community effort to make it quieter can succeed, and that its leaders are aware of noise pollution. A quieter capital city would be a better and healthier place for its inhabitants and also for the millions of people who visit D.C. each year.
