Despite a slowdown in the economy, and the closure of Jesmond’s night time industry, road traffic keeps noise levels above a volume that could disturb residents.

Noise pollution can be harmful to both human and wildlife’s health. An analysis by JemsondLocal shows that while areas far away from main roads are comparatively quiet, the noise from main roads is loud and constant enough to disturb the residents who live close to them – especially their sleep quality at night.

Day-evening-night noise level (Lden) is a standard that indicates a 24-hour annual average traffic noise level with separate weightings for the evening and night periods.

According to statistics from Extrium, the Ldens of the main roads around Jesmond are above 60 dB, and the Ldens of Jesmond Road and Jesmond Dene Road are above 70 dB.

Road noise’s effect on the areas nearby is significant. At nights, the noise levels of the main roads are still above 60 dB, around the joint of Jesmond Road and A167(M), the noise level even surpasses 70 dB. Similar situations can be seen in big cities like London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds.

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In general, sounds above 85 dB are harmful, depending on how long and how often you are exposed to them and whether you wear hearing protection.

JesmondLocal tested noise levels in several areas of Jesmond using the iPhone app Noise Lab. According to our findings, during the lockdown, the noise problems is still significant in high traffic areas, such as Jesmond Road, Jesmond Dene Road, and Osborn Road. Fortunately, sounds above 85 dB did not appear.

Location	Max (dB)/2 mins	Min (dB)/2 mins	LEQ (Level of Equivalent Sound)/2mins
Jesmond Road	82.2	55.4	71.2
Jesmond Dene Road	81.6	52.7	71.7
Osborne Road	80.1	52.6	68.1
Clayton Road	79.2	51.2	64.1
Haldane Terrace	67.5	47.3	54.1
The Town Moor	77.1	48.8	59.6
Jesmond Dene	72.7	45.5	52.0

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Owing to lockdown rules, some sources of noise nuisance like pub music, noisy parties, and construction have been lessened or stopped for a while.

However, every time vehicles passed by our monitoring point, the dB level would reach a peak.

Haldane Terrace, which has banned cars as part of a move towards becoming a low traffic neighbourhood, was much quieter than Clayton Road, which is not far away from it. The siren of a police car caused the maximum dB recorded at a location near to the Armstrong Bridge in Jesmond Dene, and there was no other sound except the wind and people’s voice at the Town Moor.

Marsha Armstrong, a company director who lives on Akenside Terrace, told JesmondLocal although the closure of nightclubs reduced traffic on Friday or Saturday nights conspicuously, she has been disturbed during the night by the noise from speeding drivers on Jesmond Road.

She also said the sound of Heavy Goods Vehicles going over drain covers is loud. Like most of her neighbours, Armstrong’s house has double glazing, but she can still hear traffic noise loudly.

“Some neighbours have original sash windows. It would be a shame if they had to disrupt the look and feel of these period properties to accommodate the noise,” Armstrong said.

Denise Johnson, a retired NHS clinical psychologist, has lived on Osborne Road for 35 years. She always wakes up in the early morning by heavy lorries and buses. At nights, Metro replacement buses interfere with her sleep. “The Metro replacement double-decker buses appear to tick each category of pollution box,” Johnson said.

Johnson is one of those residents who has double glazing, but says it can’t fix everything. “Sometimes you need windows open, so you are faced with decisions there,” she said. “Sometimes you might need or want to stand at your doorstep, or in the front garden and hold a conversation.”

Company director Sophie Milliken complains the traffic noise on the Jesmond Dene Road is annoying, which is constant where the traffic lights are. Despite having double glazing, Milliken has to sleep with earplugs in, otherwise the nights would be restless. “I can hear loud music from cars, sirens from emergency vehicles and people’s dogs barking when they stop for a chat on the road – always late at night,” Milliken said.

According to the city council, noise on roads is not legally limited but when new roads or houses near roads are planned, it might be considered.

The city council has no responsibility to deal with traffic, but there are limits to the amount of noise that vehicles can make on public roads. Noise caused by tyres are limited, and the police can also act if your vehicle’s silencer does not work in the way it was designed or if you are driving in a way that creates too much noise.