Masking Traffic With White Noise

An ‘urban soundscaping’ project in the Belgian city of Antwerp is installing noise-canceling fountains in a city park to mitigate the impacts of road noise and noise pollution. As Adele Peters explains in Fast Company, “The government worked with a researcher at Ghent University who recorded the sounds of several existing fountains in the city, measuring the frequencies, dynamics, tone, and sound levels. That made it possible to design configurations of fountains to help cover the traffic noise.”

The city then solicited public input to narrow down fountain design options. “The city is also making other changes, including adding grooves to the road that can help reduce traffic noise by as much as four decibels. A new noise reduction wall will also help cut noise both in the surrounding neighborhood and the park.”

Like other cities, Antwerp is also working to reduce driving overall and increase the number of trips made by foot, bike, and public transit. “And while a growing number of cars are electric, EVs alone can’t solve the urban noise problem; when cars drive faster than 25 miles an hour, [Raf Verbruggen, Antwerp’s project lead on urban soundscaping] says, the noise from the tires on the pavement is as loud as the engine.”