Assessment of Noise Pollution along Two Main Avenues in Curitiba, Brazil

In this study, noise pollution assessments were performed along Marechal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue, which are two major thoroughfares in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Eleven points were evaluated at Batel Avenue and 16 points at Marechal Deodoro Avenue. The results of the noise level measurements and the calculation of noise maps indicated that both thoroughfares are acoustically polluted. The simulated and measured noise levels, in the 27 evaluated points, exceed the limits established by law 10,625 of the city of Curitiba, which establishes acceptable levels for the comfort of the population in the external environment. With regard to the traffic composition in the areas under study, the vehicle flow was found to consist mostly of light vehicles, representing 88% of the total flow along Batel Avenue and 85% on Marshal Deodoro Street. Based on the noise maps and measured noise levels, it was found that the entire length of Marshal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue are strongly affected by street noise, which is readily explained by the constant traffic, high vehicle flow (number of vehicles/hour) and high vehicle speed at some points of these thoroughfares.