Can’t Hear the Train Comin’: Passenger Exposure to Noise at Los Angeles Transit Platforms

Abstract

There are 16 transit stations located inside highway medians in Los Angeles County, and passengers on these station platforms are subjected to high levels of noise produced by nearby highway traffic. Exposure to these elevated sound volumes makes waiting for a bus or train unpleasant at best, and potentially harmful to passengers’ health. Researchers have shown a conclusive link between hearing loss and exposure to high ambient noise levels, and daily commuters, who use stations in noisy highway medians, over the course of many years may suffer from hearing loss and damage to circulatory systems. At the stations in the study area, average decibel readings ranged from the high 70’s to high 80’s, the equivalent of standing close to a passing truck or a kitchen blender. The noise from freeway traffic travelling at high speeds is exacerbated by the presence of station features, such as concrete canopies, that reflect noise back onto the platform. Much of the variation in noise levels is due to factors that cannot be controlled by the design and layout of the station.