3 ms·

As you pointed out, even just dirt works. Noise abatement is done for urban freeways all the time, without changing the trucks, cars, road surface, et cetera.

reaperducer 4y ago
Noise abatement is done for urban freeways all the time, without changing the trucks, cars, road surface, et cetera. One of the reasons the Kennedy Expressway in downtown Chicago is zoned for skyscrapers on both sides is to block the traffic noise from getting into the rest of the area.
- RC_ITR 4y ago
  Dallas does the same thing with 75 and it's so wild because it seems like you're in an intensely urban area for miles, but really it's a wall of 10-15 story buildings surrounded by single family homes.
duped 4y ago
That's not true at all, automobiles and road surfaces are engineered for their acoustics in addition to noise abatement along roadways. Otherwise we wouldn't require mufflers or design better performing asphalt/cement mixtures and groove patterns that balance friction and noise. And even with all of that it's not great.
- blamazon 4y ago
  To make my statement more precise, I know what you're saying is true but what I mean is, in a three month span one can put noise abatement panels along a freeway, in say, Charlotte North Carolina. (Just to be optimistic in this hypothetical) Three months isn't enough time to propagate effects from the long term changes that you correctly mentioned are responsible for reducing auto noise on a larger scale, and those panels aren't going to make the sound go away entirely, but they will abate the noise on the other side. That's what I'm saying is happening all the time and is analogous to the conditions in the article which seem to be newly constructed data centers. Of course there will be changes over time inside the data centers that make them more efficient and whatnot, but if there's a nearby residential zone when a new one is being built, just put some abatement into the site design. That takes no R&D, but it does take more capital.

reaperducer 4y ago

Noise abatement is done for urban freeways all the time, without changing the trucks, cars, road surface, et cetera. One of the reasons the Kennedy Expressway in downtown Chicago is zoned for skyscrapers on both sides is to block the traffic noise from getting into the rest of the area.

RC_ITR 4y ago
Dallas does the same thing with 75 and it's so wild because it seems like you're in an intensely urban area for miles, but really it's a wall of 10-15 story buildings surrounded by single family homes.

duped 4y ago

That's not true at all, automobiles and road surfaces are engineered for their acoustics in addition to noise abatement along roadways. Otherwise we wouldn't require mufflers or design better performing asphalt/cement mixtures and groove patterns that balance friction and noise. And even with all of that it's not great.

blamazon 4y ago
To make my statement more precise, I know what you're saying is true but what I mean is, in a three month span one can put noise abatement panels along a freeway, in say, Charlotte North Carolina. (Just to be optimistic in this hypothetical) Three months isn't enough time to propagate effects from the long term changes that you correctly mentioned are responsible for reducing auto noise on a larger scale, and those panels aren't going to make the sound go away entirely, but they will abate the noise on the other side. That's what I'm saying is happening all the time and is analogous to the conditions in the article which seem to be newly constructed data centers. Of course there will be changes over time inside the data centers that make them more efficient and whatnot, but if there's a nearby residential zone when a new one is being built, just put some abatement into the site design. That takes no R&D, but it does take more capital.