Irish Examiner view: Paris addresses its noise pollution problem
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Noise pollution is an insufficiently discussed problem of modern life, yet it often seems that we are surrounded by a wall of sound in our everyday experiences, and particularly in the urban environment.
Shops (inside and out) and fast-food restaurants are two of the worst offenders but there is an even more pervasive hum and roar in the background; it emanates from motor vehicles and, often ear-shatteringly, from motorbikes.
Now one major city has decided it has had enough, and it is the home of the gilet jaunes, the liberté, egalité, fraternité citoyens of Paris.
The French capital has introduced a prototype sonic radar in an attempt to shed its reputation as one of Europe’s noisiest cities.
David Belliard, deputy mayor of Paris, says “too much noise makes people sick” and, if we are following the science these days, there is evidence in support of this.
It’s one of the reasons that Canadian police were bombarding the bridge protestors in Ottawa with non-stop renditions of ‘Macarena’.
Other noise radars are on trial in the Ile-de-France region, and in the cities of Nice and Lyon.
A study last December by Money.co.uk drawn from European Environment Agency data identified Paris as one of the continent’s noisiest cities with more than 5.5m people exposed to traffic noise of 55 decibels or higher compared to 2.6m Londoners and 1.7m in Vienna and Rome.
The negative impact of traffic noise on bird populations has long been established and has been proven to disrupt their ability to communicate and even to attract mates. It is more than likely to affect us similarly.
More power to the French on this one. Marchons!