Effect of attitudinal, situational and demographic
factors on annoyance due to environmental
vibration and noise from construction of a light
rapid transit system

Wong-McSweeney, DBC; Woodcock, JS; Waddington, DC; Peris, E; Koziel, Z; Moorhouse, AT; Redel-Macias, MD

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine what non-exposure factors influence the relationship
between vibration and noise exposure from the construction of a Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system
and the annoyance of nearby residents. Noise and vibration from construction sites are known to
annoy residents, with annoyance increasing as a function of the magnitude of the vibration and noise.
There is not a strong correlation between exposure and levels of annoyance suggesting that factors
not directly related to the exposure may have an influence. A range of attitudinal, situational and
demographic factors are investigated with the aim of understanding the wide variation in annoyance
for a given vibration exposure. A face-to-face survey of residents (n = 350) near three sites of LRT
construction was conducted, and responses were compared to semi-empirical estimates of the internal
vibration within the buildings. It was found that annoyance responses due to vibration were strongly
influenced by two attitudinal variables, concern about property damage and sensitivity to vibration.
Age, ownership of the property and the visibility of the construction site were also important factors.
Gender, time at home and expectation of future levels of vibration had much less influence. Due to
the measurement methods used, it was not possible to separate out the effects of noise and vibration
on annoyance; as such, this paper focusses on annoyance due to vibration exposure. This work
concludes that for the most cost-effective reduction of the impact of construction vibration and noise
on the annoyance felt by a community, policies should consider attitudinal factors.

Citation

rapid transit system. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(12), 1237. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121237

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Dec 14, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 14, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 22, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 22, 2016
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Electronic ISSN: 1660-4601
• Publisher: MDPI
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1237
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121237
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121237
• Related Public URLs: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
• Additional Information: Funders : Defra;MAPFRE Foundation (Spain); Grant Number: NANR209; Grant Number: BIL/14/P2/161