Living with Singapore's traffic noise

ST went inside residences near airports, busy roads and the MRT to experience the commotion.

- Amanda Shendruk Digital Graphics Correspondent

In one of the world's densest cities, peace and quiet are hard to find. As a global hub, Singapore's skies are always busy, while an extensive web of roads and a well-connected MRT network keep residents constantly on the move.

But these conveniences come at a noisy price — the traffic never stops, and for those living nearby, the constant sound is often impossible to escape.

"Singapore's land scarcity forces housing, schools and workplaces to be built immediately adjacent to expressways, arterial roads, viaducts and busy vehicle corridors," explained Professor Gan Woon-Seng, who teaches audio engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Additionally, "most residential buildings are high-rise, creating multiple reflection canyons where noise bounces between buildings".

Moreover, in the city's hot climate, many residents prefer open-window living, worsening the noise problem.

A survey conducted by The Straits Times and NTU found that those living near a source of steady traffic such as an airport, a major road or the MRT rarely experienced relief. In the quieter homes, the average noise intensity over an hour was around 40dB, which is like the sound of a running refrigerator (see charts on the opposite page). In the loudest homes, that hourly average hit over 60dB. That's like living with a constant conversation going on.

SAFE AND UNSAFE NOISE LEVELS

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), excessive noise can cause an array of unwanted health problems from sleep disturbance and depression to hypertension and adverse birth outcomes so the organisation has established safe levels of average exposure. For traffic noise, it recommends a daily average of less than 53dB, and less than 45dB for aircraft noise.

Singapore, too, has determined safe levels of noise. The National Environment Agency (NEA) suggests average indoor noise levels should be below 57dB.