This manual provides direction for the preparation of noise and vibration sections of environmental documents for mass transportation projects. The manual has been developed in the interest of promoting quality and uniformity in assessments. It is expected to be used by people associated with or affected by the urban transit industry, including Federal Transit Administration (FTA) staff, grant applicants, consultants and the general public. Each of these groups has an interest in noise/vibration assessment, but not all have the need for all the details of the process. Consequently, this manual has been prepared to serve readers with varying levels of technical background and interests. It sets forth the basic concepts, methods and procedures for documenting the extent and severity of noise impacts from transit projects.

This report is the second edition of a guidance manual originally issued in 1995 which presents procedures for predicting and assessing noise and vibration impacts of proposed mass transit projects. All types of bus and rail projects are covered. Procedures for assessing noise and vibration impacts are provided for different stages of project development, from early planning before mode and alignment have been selected through preliminary engineering and final design. Both for noise and vibration, there are three levels of analysis described. The framework acts as a screening process, reserving detailed analysis for projects with the greatest potential for impacts while allowing a simpler process for projects with little or no effects. This updated guidance contains noise and vibration impact criteria that are used to assess the magnitude of predicted impacts. A range of mitigation measures are described for dealing with adverse noise and vibration impacts. There is a discussion of noise and vibration during the construction stage and also discussion of how the technical information should be presented in the Federal Transit Administration's environmental documents. This guidance will be of interest not only to technical specialists who conduct the analyses but also to transit agency staff, federal agency reviewers, and members of the general public who may be affected by the projects.

High-speed ground transportation noise and vibration impact assessment : final report /