3.1        Road and railway noise

Motorized individual traffic has constantly increased during the last decades. A further increase in motorized individual traffic for the transportation of people and goods is expected as a result of the German reunification and the introduction of the Single European Market in 1992. In Germany, more than 45 million registered vehicles are expected for the year 2005. We can also assume that the driving performance will increase.

With an annual emission of about 190 million tons of carbon dioxide (in 2000), traffic in Germany is a significant factor for the production of the harmful greenhouse gases which make up more than 50 % of the greenhouse effect.

Heavy traffic especially in towns and cities causes considerable pollution by traffic noise and traffic-related air pollutants for the citizens.

Social science studies carried out in 1989 revealed that more than two thirds of the population feel disturbed by road traffic noise, one person out of four or five feels strongly disturbed, in big cities even one out three or four. As people's dwellings and workplaces are more and more separated from each other in our settlement areas, especially in agglomeration areas, towns and municipalities are burdened with a high number of motorized commuters every day. Figure 3/2 illustrates their potential around towns and cites. The figure shows that the highest degree of motorization can be found in the periphery of big cities and not within the cities. You can see that the degree of motorization (cars per 1,000 inhabitants) lies between 460 and 490 in Stuttgart for example, while the surrounding region has more than 520.