Rice, Henry J.

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Rice, Henry J.
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Rice, Henry J.

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  • Publication
    Implementation of the EU environmental noise directive : lessons from the first phase of strategic noise mapping and action planning in Ireland
    (Elsevier, 2011-03)
    King, Eoin A. 
    ;
    Murphy, Enda 
    ;
    Rice, Henry J. 
    The first phase of noise mapping and action planning in Ireland, in accordance with EU Directive 2002/49/EC, is now complete. In total this included one agglomeration, one airport and approximately 600 km of major roads outside the agglomeration. These noise maps describe the level of noise exposure of approximately 1.25 million people. The first phase of noise mapping was dealt with by five noise mapping bodies while 26 action planning authorities were involved in the development of the associated action plans. The second phase of noise mapping, due to be completed in 2012, sees a reduction in the defined thresholds describing the required agglomerations, roads and railways that have to be mapped. This will have a significant impact on the extent of mapping required. In Ireland this will result in an increased number of local authorities being required to develop strategic noise maps for their area along with the further development of associated action plans. It is appropriate at this point to review the work process and results from the first phase of noise mapping in Ireland in order to establish areas that could be improved, throughout the noise mapping project. In this paper a review of the implementation procedures focussing on (dominant) road traffic noise is presented. It is identified that more standardisation is needed and this could be achieved by the establishment of a national expert steering group.
    Scopus© Citations 60  2046
  • Publication
    Evaluating the impact on noise levels of a ban on private cars in Dublin city centre, Ireland
    (Elsevier, 2011-10)
    King, Eoin A. 
    ;
    Murphy, Enda 
    ;
    Rice, Henry J. 
    Dublin’s city centre is the primary destination in the Dublin region for shopping, employment and education. Public transport services in the area have experienced significant time delays throughout peak periods of the day due to severe traffic congestion. In an effort to alleviate traffic congestion and increase the efficiency of public transport in the area, a ‘bus gate’ was introduced to one particularly sensitive area in the city centre. The scheme restricts private vehicles from accessing the area during peak traffic hours. It was hoped that this scheme would result in significant journey time-savings for public transport users and would also result in reduced noise pollution in the city centre from the removal of through traffic. This paper aims to quantify the effect the ‘bus gate’ has had on noise levels in the area. Noise levels were monitored prior to and after the introduction of the scheme and the extent to which the scheme impacted on the noise levels was thus evaluated. The study also estimates the impact extending the ban would have on noise exposure levels in Dublin city centre.
      779Scopus© Citations 13
  • Publication
    Estimating human exposure to transport noise in central Dublin, Ireland
    (Elsevier, 2009-02)
    Murphy, Enda 
    ;
    King, Eoin A. 
    ;
    Rice, Henry J. 
    This paper reports on research conducted to determine estimates of the extent of environmental noise exposure from road transport on residents and workers in central Dublin, Ireland. The Harmonoise calculation method is used to calculate noise values for the study area while a Geographical Information System (GIS) is utilised as a platform upon which levels of noise exposure are estimated. Residential exposure is determined for Lden and Lnight while worker exposure is determined for Lden. In order to analyse the potential of traffic management as a noise abatement measure, traffic was redirected from the main residential areas to alternative road links and the revised exposure levels were determined. The results show that the extent of noise exposure in Dublin is considerable, and in relative terms, it is worse for the night-time period. In addition, the results suggest also that traffic management measures have the potential to lead to significant reductions in the level of noise exposure provided that careful consideration is given to the impact of traffic flows on residential populations.
      1066Scopus© Citations 84